Tokenization

Tokenized Stocks Hit Record $800M Monthly Volume: The TradFi Revolution You Can't Ignore

Tokenized stocks hit record $800M monthly volume. Robinhood CEO calls it an 'unstoppable freight train.' Nasdaq files with SEC for Q3 2026 launch. The TradFi revolution is here.

The Ripple Effect

14 Jan 2026 — 7 min read

The financial world is witnessing a seismic shift as tokenized assets experience explosive growth, with onchain trade volumes reaching unprecedented levels. What was once a theoretical concept is rapidly becoming a mainstream reality—and the numbers tell a compelling story that demands our attention.

Record-Breaking Volume Signals Major Shift

Trade volumes of tokenized public stocks have reached a record high of $800 million per month, marking a dramatic acceleration in the adoption of blockchain-based traditional assets. As of December 2025, tokenized public stocks represent approximately $683 million in total on-chain value, generate roughly $1.74 billion in monthly transfer volume, and are held by more than 129,000 wallets.

Jupiter Exchange, the world's largest onchain decentralized exchange aggregator operating on the Solana blockchain, is now seeing close to $200 million in monthly volume for these assets. The platform has emerged as a critical infrastructure player in the tokenized assets ecosystem, facilitating seamless token swaps and providing essential liquidity.

The growth trajectory has been nothing short of remarkable. Monthly volumes surged from $82.4 million in August 2025 to $195.7 million by November 2025, before settling at $178.1 million in December. This represents more than a doubling of activity in just four months.

The "Freight Train" That Won't Stop

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev delivered one of the most memorable characterizations of this trend at the Token2049 conference in Singapore in October 2025: "Tokenization is like a freight train. It can't be stopped, and eventually it's going to eat the entire financial system."

Tenev's prediction isn't just rhetoric—it's backed by Robinhood's own moves into the space. In June 2025, the company launched over 200 tokenized U.S. stocks for European Union customers, sending Robinhood's stock price to what was then a record high. The company is positioning itself to lead the transformation of 24/7 global asset trading, with plans to expand tokenization to real estate and other assets.

"I think most major markets will have some framework in the next five years," Tenev said, though he acknowledged that reaching 100% tokenization could take more than a decade.

Nasdaq's Bold Regulatory Push

The momentum isn't limited to crypto-native platforms. On September 8, 2025, Nasdaq filed a groundbreaking proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to enable trading of tokenized securities alongside traditional securities on its exchange.

The proposed rule change (SR-NASDAQ-2025-072) would allow investors to choose whether to settle trades in traditional digital form or tokenized blockchain form on a trade-by-trade basis, with the first token-settled trades potentially occurring by the end of Q3 2026, pending approval.

"The mere fact that an order contains tokenized securities or indicates a preference to clear and settle securities in token form shall not affect the priority in which the Exchange executes that order," according to Nasdaq's proposed filing. The tokenized shares would maintain the same CUSIP number, shareholder rights, and market identification as traditional shares.

Chuck Mack, Senior Vice President of North American Markets for Nasdaq, explained in an interview that the proposal seeks to integrate tokenized securities seamlessly with traditional counterparts while maintaining all existing regulatory protections under SEC rules.

Major Players Racing Into Tokenization

The competitive landscape is heating up rapidly:

Bitget revealed that its U.S. stock futures have surpassed $15 billion in cumulative trading volume, with Tesla (TSLA) alone accounting for $5.4 billion, followed by Meta (META) at $3 billion and Apple (AAPL) at $1.7 billion.
Securitize announced in December 2025 that it will launch the first compliant, onchain trading experience for natively tokenized public stocks in Q1 2026, using real regulated shares recorded directly on issuers' cap tables.
Coinbase is expanding its platform to include stock trading, prediction markets, and enhanced DeFi integration with Jupiter for Solana-based tokens.
Ondo Finance expanded its platform by adding 98 tokenized stocks and ETFs in early 2026, including popular assets like NVIDIA and Tesla, bringing its total to 200+ assets tradable 24/7 on Ethereum and BNB Chain.

Institutional Capital Flows In

The broader real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market has grown significantly, reaching approximately $35-36 billion on-chain by late 2025—nearly 10x growth since 2022. Major financial institutions including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and JPMorgan have launched tokenized funds, signaling mainstream acceptance.

Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters told a conference in late 2025 that we'll eventually see the majority of transactions being settled on the blockchain—a prediction that seemed radical just years ago but now appears increasingly plausible.

What This Means for the Broader Crypto Market

The tokenization wave represents a fundamental convergence between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). By bringing trillions of dollars in traditional assets onchain, tokenization creates new liquidity pools, trading opportunities, and use cases for blockchain infrastructure.

For the crypto market, this means:

Increased Legitimacy: Major traditional finance players entering tokenization validates blockchain technology's utility beyond speculative assets.
Infrastructure Demand: Networks capable of handling high transaction volumes at low costs become increasingly valuable as tokenization scales.
Bridge to Mainstream Adoption: Tokenized stocks and ETFs provide familiar entry points for traditional investors to experience blockchain benefits without diving into purely crypto-native assets.
24/7 Market Access: Tokenization enables round-the-clock trading of traditionally time-restricted assets, fundamentally changing how global markets operate.

Regulatory Landscape Evolving

The regulatory environment is shifting to accommodate tokenization. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has made tokenization a major priority for the agency, launching "Project Crypto" to clear a path for the world's leading tokenized securities market.

"This movement of securities from off-chain to on-chain systems is akin to the transition of audio recordings from analog vinyl records to cassette tapes to digital software decades ago," Atkins said in May 2025 remarks. "The migration to on-chain securities has the potential to remodel aspects of the securities market by enabling entirely new methods of issuing, trading, owning, and using securities."

However, challenges remain. Europe appears to be moving faster than the United States in establishing comprehensive frameworks, with Tenev noting that "the US will probably be the last economy to achieve full tokenization" due to its existing, functional financial system reducing urgency for complete overhaul.

XRP and Ripple: Positioned for Tokenization Growth

Among crypto assets, XRP and the XRP Ledger (XRPL) are particularly well-positioned to benefit from the tokenization trend. Tokenized real-world assets on XRPL surged 2,200% in 2025, growing from $24.7 million to approximately $567.9 million by year-end.

Ripple's partnership with Archax, the UK's first FCA-regulated digital securities exchange, aims to bring over $1 billion in tokenized real-world assets onto XRPL by mid-2026. Analysts project that tokenized assets on XRPL could reach $3 billion to $6 billion by late 2026.

The XRPL's advantages for tokenization include:

Speed: Transactions settle in 3-5 seconds
Cost: Transaction fees are fractions of a cent
Scalability: Capable of handling up to 1,500 transactions per second
Built-in DEX: Native decentralized exchange enables seamless token conversions
Regulatory Compliance: Features designed for institutional requirements

Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin, launched in December 2024, has already reached over $1.3 billion in market cap, becoming the third-largest U.S.-regulated stablecoin. This infrastructure provides the settlement rails necessary for efficient RWA trading on XRPL.

Recent developments include tokenized gold being added to XRPL through partnerships with providers like MeldGold, expanding the range of real-world assets available onchain. RippleNet documentation explicitly states the network supports bridging not just fiat currencies but also gold, silver, securities, and other assets.

For XRP token holders, increased tokenization activity on XRPL could drive utility and demand, as XRP often serves as a bridge currency for converting between tokenized assets. The August 2025 SEC settlement removing regulatory uncertainty has accelerated institutional interest in building on XRPL.

Challenges and Considerations

Despite the momentum, tokenization faces several challenges:

Liquidity: Tokenized markets currently have lower liquidity than traditional markets, leading to potentially wider spreads and increased volatility during non-traditional trading hours.
Regulatory Uncertainty: While progress is being made, comprehensive frameworks are still evolving, particularly in the United States.
Infrastructure Development: Systems for clearing, settlement, and custody need further development to handle tokenized assets at scale.
Price Accuracy: Some early tokenized stock offerings experienced significant price dislocations from underlying assets, creating risks for retail investors.
Investor Protection: Ensuring tokenized assets maintain the same regulatory protections as traditional securities requires careful implementation.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As we move deeper into 2026, several trends appear poised to accelerate:

Nasdaq's tokenization platform could launch by Q3 2026 if SEC approval is granted, bringing tokenized trading to one of the world's most important exchanges.
Institutional adoption will likely expand as major banks and asset managers develop tokenization strategies.
Infrastructure improvements from companies like Securitize, Coinbase, and others will make tokenized asset trading more seamless and accessible.
Regulatory clarity should improve as the SEC and other regulators establish clearer frameworks under pro-crypto leadership.
Cross-border accessibility will increase as tokenization enables global investors to access U.S. markets and other traditionally restricted assets more easily.

The $800 million in monthly tokenized stock trading volumes represents just the beginning. As Ivo Grigorov, CEO of Real Finance, noted: "Real-world assets will move from 'tokenized experiments to repeatable, standardized on-chain financial products' in 2026."

The question is no longer whether tokenization will reshape finance, but how quickly the transformation will occur. With major exchanges, tech platforms, and regulatory bodies now engaged in the process, the "freight train" Tenev described is clearly gaining momentum.

For crypto investors, this represents both validation of blockchain technology's utility and an opportunity to position portfolios to benefit from the intersection of traditional and decentralized finance. As always, investors should conduct thorough research and consider their individual circumstances before making investment decisions in this rapidly evolving space.

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