RWAs buck DeFi slowdown as tokenized assets gain traction: CoinShares

Tokenized real-world assets moved beyond issuance as RWA deposits more than tripled to $7.4 billion, while lending and trading activity expanded despite a broader industry slowdown.

Real-world assets (RWAs) are gaining momentum as tokenized versions of traditional investments move beyond issuance and become active parts of onchain financial markets.

RWA deposits across decentralized finance platforms more than tripled year over year to $7.4 billion in the second quarter of 2026, while total DeFi deposits fell about 15%, according to a joint report by CoinShares and Token Terminal published Thursday.

CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti said the divergence shows that RWA demand is being driven by practical use cases rather than broader market conditions.

“When an asset class grows through a downturn in its host ecosystem, demand is being driven by financial utility, not by market cycles,” he said.

The report suggested that the RWA market is entering a new phase, with investors using them as collateral, yield-generating instruments and trading products across onchain markets.

Yield-bearing stablecoins and tokenized Treasury products have emerged as the largest categories of RWA assets used across DeFi, according to the report.

In Q2, Sky Protocol’s sUSDS led the category, giving holders exposure to a yield-generating version of its USDS stablecoin.

Tokenized Treasury funds, including BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), have also become a major source of onchain collateral, as investors use yield-bearing assets in decentralized lending markets.

The report said that RWA products currently offer yields ranging from about 3.2% to 5.5%, with lower-risk Treasury products at the bottom of the range and higher-yield strategies carrying additional risks.

Gold-backed tokens and yield-bearing dollar products accounted for much of the RWA trading activity on decentralized exchanges (DEXs).

CoinShares classified gold-backed stablecoins such as Tether Gold (XAUt) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) as tokenized gold products within its broader RWA category.