Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, a16z, reported that trading volume in perpetual contracts on real-world assets reached $117.3 billion in August 2026. The total was 44 times higher than a year earlier, while onchain venues accounted for 86% of the market, according to a16z data.

Open interest reached $4.8 billion, rising nearly 30-fold from $161 million in July 2025. The expansion came as U.S. regulators began laying the groundwork for limited trading in tokenized stocks.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig said tokenization could modernize the financial system. According to Selig, tokenized collateral “has the potential to make liquidity more dynamic and markets more resilient.”

RWA perpetual futures move onchain

Perpetual contracts on real-world assets allow traders to gain exposure to the prices of stocks, gold, commodities and other traditional assets without owning them directly. Unlike standard futures, the contracts have no fixed expiration date, and some venues permit trading around the clock, including on weekends.

August trading volume declined from $145.1 billion in July, despite remaining 44 times higher than a year earlier. Onchain venues handled about $101 billion of the August total, while centralized exchanges accounted for roughly $16 billion.

The shift toward onchain trading accelerated after Hyperliquid launched its HIP-3 upgrade in October 2025. The upgrade allowed developers to create their own perpetual-contract markets using HyperCore’s shared infrastructure.

The composition of trading also changed. Commodities represented 84% of volume a year earlier. By August 2026, equities accounted for 48%, commodities for 28% and indices for 18%.

RWA perpetual contracts nevertheless remained substantially smaller than the traditional derivatives market, where monthly futures and options trading volumes are measured in tens of trillions of dollars.

SEC permits conditional pilot

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved a temporary, conditional Innovation Exemption allowing certain onchain venues to trade tokenized shares of companies in the U.S. National Market System. The authorization permits the use of automated market makers and liquidity pools under specified restrictions.

The SEC plans to use data collected during the pilot to inform future regulation.

Source: Incrypted