Real-World Assets Buck DeFi Slowdown with Record Growth

Real-world assets (RWAs) are gaining traction in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, despite a broader slowdown in DeFi deposits. According to a joint report by CoinShares and Token Terminal, RWA deposits across DeFi platforms more than tripled year-over-year to $7.4 billion in the second quarter of 2026.

This growth is driven by practical use cases, not market conditions, said Jean-Marie Mognetti, CEO of CoinShares. 'When an asset class grows through a downturn in its host ecosystem, demand is being driven by financial utility, not by market cycles,' he noted.

The RWA market is entering a new phase, with investors using RWAs as collateral, yield-generating instruments, and trading products across onchain markets. Yield-bearing stablecoins and tokenized Treasury products are the largest categories of RWA assets used in DeFi, with Sky Protocol's sUSDS leading the category.

RWAs offer yields ranging from 3.2% to 5.5%, with lower-risk Treasury products at the bottom of the range. Gold-backed tokens and yield-bearing dollar products accounted for much of the RWA trading activity on decentralized exchanges (DEXs), with gold price swings driving significant trading volume.

RWA spot trading volumes rose roughly 220% year-over-year, even as overall DEX volumes fell about 70%. Onchain exposure to RWAs is also expanding into derivatives markets, where traders can take leveraged positions without owning the underlying assets.