Hyperliquid's Real-World Assets Trading Volume Surpasses Crypto Transactions

Decentralized exchange Hyperliquid has seen a significant shift in trading volume, with real-world assets (RWAs) surpassing cryptocurrency transactions for the first time. Between July 13 and July 19, RWA volume on the platform reached $25.1 billion, accounting for 52% of its total weekly volume of $48.2 billion.

This marks a notable milestone in the growth of tokenized traditional financial instruments on decentralized exchanges. According to data from Blockworks, tokenized stocks and crude oil generated $26 billion in recent running figures, securing 54% of the platform's overall volume.

The shift towards RWAs follows the launch of the HIP-3 framework in October 2025, which allows outside developers to establish perpetual market contracts by staking 500,000 HYPE tokens. Single-stock perpetuals have comprised 61% of all RWA trading on Hyperliquid since June, with pre-IPO markets for firms such as SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI being particularly popular.

ARK Invest Research Director Lorenzo Valente commented on the trend, stating 'We are entering a new era for DeFi.' He noted that RWAs accounted for 54% of total trading volume and highlighted the evolving structure of decentralized finance venues and asset aggregation. Valente also argued that market participants focused solely on traditional digital tokens may be overlooking broader structural changes.