Dune Research: Tokenized Assets Often Diverge From Traditional Markets

Tokenized markets are growing, but their trading and investment behavior is not mirroring traditional finance. A new Dune report comparing onchain activity with off-chain counterparts across several asset classes—including equities, credit, commodities, and cash-equivalent products—finds meaningful differences in how investors use tokenized instruments.

Dune estimates tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) were worth $34.5 billion as of Aug. 31, up more than 140% year over year. The same analysis highlights that cash-equivalent products still dominate the supply, while equities are the most actively traded segment—yet tokenized equities remain a tiny slice of the overall global listed-equity market.

Key takeaways

• Equities dominate tokenized spot supply in a “single-stock vs ETF” split: Dune reports single stocks account for 81% of tokenized equity spot supply, with ETFs at 19%.
• Tokenized equities are still very small globally: Binance Research data cited by Richard Teng puts the market at $4.43 billion as of Sept. 15—only 0.0029% of the $151.9 trillion global listed-equity market.
• Tokenization changes how investors choose exposure: Ondo Finance ecosystem head Armand Khatri says tokenization reduces reliance on local intermediaries’ offerings.
• Regulators and exchanges are pushing incremental access: The SEC granted a temporary exemption for limited onchain trading of tokenized US-listed stocks, while NYSE and Blockchain.com announced plans for tokenized stocks and ETFs.

Onchain behavior differs by asset class

Dune’s report examines tokenized RWAs through both supply and activity patterns, looking at how onchain trading differs from traditional market structures. The most pronounced divergence appears in equities, where the composition of tokenized holdings is skewed toward individual companies rather than pooled index exposure.

According to Dune, single stocks make up 81% of tokenized equity spot supply, while ETFs represent 19%. That breakdown matters because it can influence liquidity, trading strategies, and investor demand. Single-stock tokens may attract a different set of participants—such as investors seeking targeted exposure or specific corporate events—whereas ETF-linked tokens more closely align with index-based allocation behavior.

Beyond composition, Dune also points to activity: equities are described as the most actively traded segment among tokenized RWAs, even as cash-equivalent products continue to dominate overall supply. In practice, this suggests that investors may be more willing to actively rotate into equity exposure when it becomes available on tokenized rails, while capital preservation and short-duration instruments still attract the majority of issued value.

Why tokenization could shift investor choice

Ondo Finance’s Armand Khatri frames the appeal in terms of autonomy. In comments cited alongside the Dune findings, Khatri argues that tokenization gives investors more direct control over asset selection by reducing dependence on what local intermediaries choose to offer.

“The investor decides which they want,” he said, referring to the ability to choose between single-company exposure and index exposure. For investors, this isn’t just a technical upgrade—it can change how portfolios are constructed. When access pathways are standardized and programmable, investors may be able to tailor holdings more precisely instead of working around the constraints of jurisdictional products, intermediary limitations, or distribution bottlenecks.

Still, the real-world impact will likely depend on how widely tokenized access expands, how liquidity develops, and how regulatory frameworks evolve across markets.

Tokenized equities are tiny—but growth is visible

Separate analysis from Binance Research, cited by Binance co-CEO Richard Teng, places the tokenized equity market at $4.43 billion as of Sept. 15. The figure is up 390% in 2026, Teng said, but it remains extremely small relative to the broader market. He compared it to the $151.9 trillion global listed-equity market, concluding tokenized equities represent just 0.0029% of the total.

Binance Research also projected tokenized equities could reach about $349 billion by 2030 in its base-case scenario. Teng cautioned that any structural shift in how investors access equity markets “won’t happen overnight,” underscoring a key tension: tokenized products are expanding rapidly in relative terms, yet their absolute scale is still far from reshaping mainstream capital markets.

For traders and portfolio managers, this scale gap matters. Even as tokenized equity products attract attention, liquidity depth, spreads, and settlement mechanics may still differ from established venues—meaning market behavior today may not fully reflect what a larger, more mature tokenized ecosystem would eventually look like.

Regulatory and exchange moves are widening access

While tokenized equities remain marginal in global terms, US regulatory and exchange actions suggest incremental progress in access pathways. On Sept. 17, the US Securities and Exchange Commission granted a temporary exemption allowing limited onchain trading of tokenized US-listed stocks, according to earlier coverage by Cointelegraph: SEC temporary exemption for tokenized US stock trading.

At the venue level, Cointelegraph also reported plans involving the New York Stock Exchange and Blockchain.com to offer tokenized US-listed stocks and ETFs through NYSE’s planned digital trading platform, subject to regulatory approval. Earlier coverage noted this as a potentially significant bridge between traditional listings and tokenized distribution: NYSE and Blockchain.com plan tokenized US stocks.

These developments align with the broader theme that tokenization may change market access over time—but likely in stages. Temporary exemptions, phased exchange initiatives, and regulatory approvals suggest the industry’s trajectory will be shaped as much by compliance design and market structure as by technology.

As investors watch tokenized RWAs, the next signals to follow are whether tokenized equities keep outpacing other segments in onchain activity, how much liquidity improves as access widens, and what regulatory decisions do next as trading expands beyond limited exemptions.