Exchanges Rush to Tokenize Stocks as Competition Heats Up

Crypto exchanges are rapidly expanding their product offerings to include tokenized traditional assets in response to increasing competition from decentralized platforms and established brokerages, according to a new report.

The combined market capitalization of tokenized traditional assets listed across six leading cryptocurrency exchanges has increased nearly fivefold since January 2025, reaching US$6.6 billion (AU$9.57 billion) by June 2026. These products include tokenized exposure to US equities, commodities, precious metals, global indexes, and foreign exchange markets.

Precious metals initially led the market's expansion before investor attention shifted towards US equity products, with perpetual futures accounting for the majority of trading activity. By mid-2026, US stock perpetual futures generated more trading volume and open interest than precious metals, particularly in semiconductor companies and anticipated IPOs.

The report suggests that exchanges are broadening their product ranges to strengthen customer retention as market competition intensifies. Pressure is coming from decentralized exchanges as well as traditional brokerages expanding into digital assets, creating greater convergence between blockchain-based trading platforms and conventional financial services.