Real-world asset deposits triple as DeFi activity cools

The data, compiled by CoinShares and Token Terminal, highlights a growing divergence between traditional financial assets brought on-chain and native crypto activity. While decentralized exchange volume plummeted by roughly 70% year-over-year, spot trading of tokenized assets bucked the trend, rising 220%. Analysts suggest this shift indicates that tokenization is beginning to serve structural financial utility rather than merely following speculative market cycles.

Ethereum remains the primary hub for this activity, hosting nearly 70% of RWA collateral. Established lending protocols like Aave and Morpho have become the preferred venues, benefiting from deeper stablecoin liquidity and proven infrastructure. Meanwhile, tokenized equities reached approximately $2.2 billion in value, and perpetual futures platforms—most notably TradeXYZ—saw volume grow twentyfold as investors sought continuous exposure to indices like the S&P 500 and various commodities. Despite these gains, the RWA segment has yet to generate sufficient revenue to offset the overall slowdown in the wider crypto-native market.