Tokenized equities have seen explosive growth in 2026, with the market cap surging over 140% from $814 million to nearly $2 billion, according to new research from DeFiLlama. The study evaluated leading tokenized equity platforms across brokerage integration, reserve verification, dividend treatment, settlement mechanisms, and trading infrastructure. It also singled out Bitget as the platform with the lowest median bid-ask spread at 0.83 basis points and the deepest top-of-book liquidity across all five tokenized equity markets analyzed.
The growth numbers
The market cap jump from $814 million to nearly $2 billion in just over seven months marks a rapid acceleration for the tokenized equities sector. DeFiLlama's research covered platforms offering tokenized versions of stocks, ETFs, commodities, and other traditional assets. The study noted that semiconductor and technology-linked assets accounted for the majority of trading activity in Bitget's Reality rTokens, which generated over $1.16 billion in cumulative trading volume between June and July alone.
Bitget's edge
Bitget led in execution benchmarks covering 36 stock perpetuals and 8 metals and commodity perpetuals across 5, 10, and 50 basis point depth measurements. The exchange, which serves over 125 million users and offers access to over 2 million crypto tokens plus 500+ tokenized stocks, ETFs, commodities, FX, and precious metals, claims to lead the tokenized TradFi market with the industry's lowest fees and highest liquidity across 150 regions. The DeFiLlama data appears to back that up.
What's driving the activity
The research points to a clear concentration in tech and semiconductor-linked tokenized assets. That aligns with broader market trends in 2026, where AI and chip stocks have drawn heavy interest from both retail and institutional traders. Bitget's Reality rTokens, which allow users to trade perpetuals tied to real-world equities, saw the bulk of their volume in these sectors.
CEO's take
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said execution quality and liquidity are becoming increasingly important differentiators as the tokenized equity infrastructure matures. With the market cap doubling and platforms like Bitget pushing for deeper liquidity, the question now is whether other exchanges can close the gap — or if Bitget's early lead will cement its dominance in the tokenized TradFi space.
