RWA perps will outpace tokenization

The article discusses the rapid growth and significance of perpetual contracts (perps) based on real world assets (RWAs) compared to traditional tokenization. While over $34 billion of assets have already been tokenized by major financial institutions like Blackrock, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton, RWA perps have shown much faster scaling. In May 2026, RWA perpetual contracts reached $347 billion in volume, a 1,472-fold increase from $230 million traded at the start of 2025. Exchanges overall facilitated $1.32 trillion in volume by the end of May 2026, which is 13 times the volume seen across all of 2025.

A key reason for the rapid adoption of RWA perps is their 24/7 market availability, unlike traditional futures and options that have limited trading hours and expirations. This allows traders to react immediately to global events, such as the Iran conflict influencing oil prices before traditional markets opened. Perps provide a simpler interface without expiration complexities, enabling efficient continuous trading with speculative potential intact.

Martin Lee, Market Insights Lead at DWF Labs, notes that derivatives generally surpass spot markets in volume across equities, commodities, and crypto, and RWAs are following that pattern. For example, equity perp volume on Hyperliquid was 13 to 20 times larger than tokenized spot equity volume from March to May 2026. Although tokenized equities have a larger user base, perp holders are growing faster, closing the gap between the two products. The ease of launching new perp markets, compared to the legal complexities of tokenizing assets, also contributes to faster innovation and the creation of novel markets, such as pre-IPO access for retail investors.

The article concludes that while tokenization was crypto’s first major export to traditional finance, perps are poised to become the dominant trading mechanism for RWAs. Crypto-native platforms will continue to innovate rapidly, influencing broader financial ecosystems. Retail platforms like Robinhood are already introducing RWA perps in Europe, signaling a broader adoption that could make perps the primary way mass investors trade assets beyond just cryptocurrencies. The views in the article reflect those of the author and not necessarily those of CoinDesk or its affiliates.