Tokenized Equities Fuel RWA Growth as Solana Gains Ground, ARK Says
Tokenized stocks grew 86% in the third quarter, while Solana roughly tripled its real-world asset value year to date as activity broadened beyond Ethereum.
Tokenized equities became the leading driver of onchain trading growth in the third quarter of 2026, according to ARK Invest, while Solana emerged as one of several networks gaining ground in real-world asset tokenization. The shift came as major crypto platforms expanded into tokenized stocks and regulators cleared trading on permissioned DeFi venues.
Tokenized Stocks Lead RWA Expansion
The value of tokenized stocks increased 86% during the quarter to approximately $3.2 billion. Tokenized active strategies grew even faster, rising 166% to $4 billion, as Robinhood, Coinbase and Payward expanded their tokenized-equity offerings.
The broader real-world asset market grew 19% quarter over quarter to $39 billion, compared with $17 billion one year earlier. Growth was concentrated in several segments:
- Tokenized equities reached approximately $3.2 billion, up 86%.
- Tokenized active strategies reached $4 billion, up 166%.
- Tokenized U.S. Treasuries remained roughly flat at $15 billion.
- Tokenized credit increased 25% to $8 billion.
Tokenized credit benefited from products such as a tokenized high-yield fund created by Securitize and Neuberger Berman. Meanwhile, the SEC’s clearance of tokenized equity trading on permissioned DeFi venues helped support the quarter’s expansion.
Solana Gains Share Beyond Ethereum
Ethereum remained the largest network for institutional RWA issuance, with approximately $16.7 billion in tokenized assets. However, its share of public-blockchain RWA value declined to about 44%, from 50% at the end of the second quarter.
BNB Chain, Solana and Stellar each roughly tripled their RWA totals year to date, signaling that tokenized assets are spreading across competing networks. BNB Chain’s growth was tied to tokenized money-market funds including iBENJI and USYC. Solana’s expansion was driven mainly by tokenized equities and BlackRock’s BUIDL fund.
The figures suggest Solana is participating in the institutional asset-tokenization trend not only through generalized DeFi activity, but also through products linked to equities and established asset managers.
DEX Activity Accelerates
Tokenized stocks also became a larger component of decentralized trading. Spot DEX volume tied to tokenized equities jumped roughly ninefold to $50 billion, representing approximately 9% of total spot DEX volume, up from 1% in the prior quarter.
Overall spot DEX volume rose 13% to $571 billion, its first quarterly increase in four quarters. Stablecoin transaction volume climbed 16% to $781 billion, while monthly active addresses increased 39% to 73 million. Total stablecoin supply, however, declined 3% to $309 billion.
What This Means
The data points to tokenized equities becoming a meaningful source of growth for onchain markets, while Solana is gaining visibility as institutional issuance expands beyond Ethereum. Continued adoption will likely depend on regulatory access, the availability of compliant products and whether rising tokenized-asset volumes translate into deeper liquidity across public networks.