Crypto TradFi grows fivefold to $6.6B as exchanges expand into stocks, commodities: Report
Crypto exchanges are expanding into tokenized traditional assets, including stocks, commodities, and precious metals, as competition from decentralized exchanges and brokerages intensifies. CoinGecko found the market cap of these assets rose from $1.4 billion in January 2025 to $6.6 billion in June 2026 across major exchanges such as Binance, OKX, Bybit, Bitget, Gate, and MEXC. Early growth was driven by tokenized precious metals, then shifted toward US equities. By mid-2026, US stock perpetual futures had surpassed precious metals in trading volume and open interest, helped by interest in semiconductor names and IPO-related speculation. Perpetual futures dominate activity because traders prefer leverage and exchanges can offer contracts without issuing or holding the underlying assets. Institutional demand is also strengthening, with major forecasts projecting tokenization could become a multi-trillion-dollar market by 2030.
