The market for tokenized equities has more than doubled in size during 2026, according to a new research report from data provider DeFiLlama. The report, highlighted by Bitget, shows that the active market capitalization of tokenized equities grew from $814 million at the start of the year to nearly $2 billion by the time of publication—a surge of over 140%.
This rapid expansion reflects growing institutional and retail interest in blockchain-based representations of traditional stocks. As the asset class matures, the report suggests that factors such as liquidity, execution quality, and settlement efficiency are becoming key differentiators among platforms.
DeFiLlama's comprehensive analysis
DeFiLlama's research evaluates leading tokenized equity platforms across multiple dimensions, including brokerage integration, reserve verification, dividend treatment, settlement mechanisms, and trading infrastructure. The report also benchmarks quoted liquidity and execution quality across various venues, providing an independent assessment of how the market is evolving.
One of the standout findings is Bitget's performance. The exchange recorded the lowest median bid-ask spread at 0.83 basis points and the deepest top-of-book liquidity across all five tokenized equity markets evaluated. In a broader execution benchmark covering 36 stock perpetuals and eight metals and commodity perpetuals, Bitget led in 32, 34, and 33 contracts across the 5, 10, and 50 basis point depth measurements, respectively, while also showing the greatest aggregate order-book depth across all measured ranges.
Liquidity and execution as key differentiators
The findings indicate that as tokenized equity infrastructure matures, execution quality and liquidity are becoming increasingly important. Investors are looking for efficient trading, not just the novelty of tokenization. Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, emphasized this point: "A tokenized stock is only as good as the market behind it. Investors don't care how the asset is packaged if they can't trade it efficiently."
Chen added, "That's why liquidity and execution matter. DeFiLlama found Bitget recorded the lowest median bid-ask spread and the deepest top-of-book liquidity across the markets they evaluated. As this market grows, those are the things investors will increasingly expect."
Adoption trends and sector demand
The report also examines adoption trends within Bitget's Reality rTokens, which generated more than $1.16 billion in cumulative trading volume between June and July. Semiconductor and technology-linked assets accounted for the majority of activity, underscoring continued demand for tokenized exposure to innovation-driven public companies. This aligns with broader market trends, such as the recent surge in AI-related stocks like Nvidia's rally and the Dow's climb on earnings optimism.
As tokenized equities gain traction, the ability to trade efficiently will likely remain a central focus for investors. The DeFiLlama report provides a valuable benchmark for evaluating platforms, and its findings suggest that liquidity and execution quality are becoming the new battlegrounds in this emerging market.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
