On-Chain Flows Shift as RWA Deposits More Than Triple in a Year

On-chain capital is flowing rapidly into the market for tokenized real-world assets, or RWAs. Deposits tied to RWAs more than tripled over the past year even as total DeFi deposits declined.

The Block reported on August 6 that CoinShares and Token Terminal said in a joint report that deposits on RWA-related lending platforms and decentralized exchanges rose to $7.4 billion in the second quarter of 2026 from $2.3 billion in the second quarter of 2025. Total DeFi deposits fell about 15% over the same period.

The report said growth in the RWA market is being driven by traditional financial products rather than crypto-native assets. By collateral, tokenized Treasuries and multi-strategy funds such as BlackRock's BUIDL, JTRSY and sUSDS accounted for a large share. Private credit products and delta-neutral strategies followed.

Trading volumes showed a similar divergence. Spot trading volume on decentralized exchanges fell about 70% overall, while RWA trading volume climbed about 220%. Gold-backed tokens XAUT and PAXG led the increase.

A similar pattern appeared in the perpetual futures market. Overall trading has slowed since October 2025, but volume and open interest in products linked to real-world assets, including crude oil, precious metals, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100 and semiconductor stocks, increased.

Jean-Marie Mognetti, chief executive officer of CoinShares, said the assets actually being used on-chain are Treasuries, gold, the S&P 500 and semiconductor stocks. Investors are not leaving traditional finance. They are moving traditional assets onto infrastructure that settles in seconds and does not close overnight.

"This is convergence, not disruption," he added. CoinShares said the trend reflects the expansion of "hybrid finance," which combines traditional finance with blockchain infrastructure.

Ethereum accounted for about 70% of total RWA deposits, maintaining the largest share. Plasma and Solana also expanded their share.