Binance Research Institute: Tokenized physical assets increased by 50% to US$34 billion in the first

Currency Security Research: Tokenized RWA grew 50% to US$34 billion in the first half of 2026, while the broader on-chain market contracted.

The new first-half report found that BNB Chain accounted for 83% of on-chain tokenized stock trading volume.

Binance Research, the market research arm of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, recently released a new weekly market review titled "First Half of 2026: On-Chain Markets." The report reviews the situation in the protocol layer, tokenized real-world assets (RWA) and decentralized finance areas in the first half of 2026, recording areas where on-chain activity has shrunk and areas where new market structures have formed.

report found that Ethereum usage will increase by approximately 50% in 2026, but full-year chain revenue is expected to decline by 53%. After the Gas cap was raised to approximately 60 million, the average Gas price fell by 75% in 2025, with lower fees far offsetting higher throughput and widening the structural gap between block space usage and revenue. The finding raises a broader question for the Ethereum ecosystem: Is it enough to simply expand Layer 1 and reduce fees, or does continued revenue growth require stronger product-driven demand?

Binance research also found that BNB Chain became the leading tokenized stock chain in the first half of 2026. The tokenized shares on BNB Chain increased from US$34 million at the beginning of the year to US$652 million in July, surpassing Ethereum and accounting for nearly one-third of the total on the chain. In July, the trading volume of on-chain tokenized stocks exceeded US$4.5 billion, accounting for approximately 83% of the market, while BNB Chain's tokenized RWA market value increased by 107%, increasing its share of on-chain RWA from 9.8% to 13.5%.

report further emphasized that the value of tokenized RWA increased from approximately US$22 billion in January to approximately US$34 billion in mid-July, an increase of more than 50%. Tokenized stocks and private equity were the fastest-growing categories, rising 177% and 164% respectively year-to-date, driven by improved regulatory clarity and exchange-led distribution including products such as bStocks, xStocks and Ondo Global Markets. Binance Research predicts that the tokenized RWA market could reach US$661 billion in the benchmark scenario and US$1.6 trillion in the bull market scenario.

Binance Research pointed out that total cryptocurrency losses fell significantly in the first half of 2026, from US$2.3 billion to US$972 million, although hacking and exploit incidents increased from 83 to 207, setting a record for a six-month period. This difference suggests that while the frequency of attacks is increasing, the economic impact of incidents has become more concentrated rather than widely distributed across the market. In particular, nearly 60% of the total losses were related to two operational failures at Drift and KelpDAO, highlighting how a small number of infrastructure-related vulnerabilities disproportionately affected overall loss data.

In the report, Binance Research said: "The next stage will depend on whether secondary liquidity and collateral liquidity are forming as quickly as primary issuance."

Disclaimer: This content is for information only and should not be used as a basis for investment decisions, nor should it be regarded as a recommendation to participate in an investment transaction, or as a recommendation on the investment strategy of any financial instrument or its issuer. The content published by Binance Research is not related to recommendations to provide investment, tax, legal, financial, accounting, consulting or any other related services, nor does it constitute recommendations to buy, sell or hold any assets. The information contained in this website is based on sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy or completeness is not guaranteed. Any opinions or estimates expressed herein are judgments as of the date of publication and are subject to change without notice. Binance Research is not responsible for any direct or indirect losses arising from the use of this publication/communication or its content.