Perpetual Futures Dominate Tokenized Real-World Markets as Exchanges Prioritize Derivatives

Crypto exchanges are prioritizing derivatives over direct asset trading, with perpetual futures dominating activity in tokenized real-world markets. According to CoinGecko, trading volume in tokenized RWA perpetual futures reached $347 billion in May 2026 alone, marking exponential growth from just $230 million at the start of 2025.

Between January 2025 and May 2026, exchanges listed up to 358 tokenized RWA instruments across spot and perpetual markets. MEXC led with 358 total listings, followed by Gate with 224 and WEEX with 192. Most venues favored perpetual futures over spot markets.

The concentration of trading activity among a small group of platforms remains high, with Binance, MEXC, and Hyperliquid emerging as the leading exchanges for TradFi perpetuals trading. Tokenized stock perpetuals have also seen rapid expansion, rising nearly 40-fold from $831 million in July 2025 to $34 billion in May 2026.