Deposits in tokenised real-world assets (RWA) rose to $7.4 billion in the second quarter of 2026, more than tripling from a year earlier, despite a broader slowdown in decentralised finance (DeFi).

Cointelegraph reported on Aug. 6 that total DeFi deposits fell about 15 percent over the same period, but RWA spot trading volume rose about 220 percent.

CoinShares and Token Terminal said in a report that tokenised traditional assets have moved beyond simple issuance and entered a phase of real use in on-chain financial markets. Investors are using RWAs as collateral, holding them as yield products and using them as trading assets, Cointelegraph reported.

Jean-Marie Mognetti (장마리 모녜티), chief executive of CoinShares, said this trend shows demand based on financial utility rather than overall market conditions.

The largest RWA categories in DeFi were yield-bearing stablecoins and tokenised U.S. Treasury products. In the second quarter, Sky Protocol's sUSDS was cited as a representative example. Holders can gain exposure to yield-generating USDS through the product.

Tokenised U.S. Treasury funds, including BlackRock's BUIDL, have also become a major source of on-chain collateral supply. Investors used these yield assets as collateral in decentralised lending markets. RWA product yields are currently about 3.2 percent to 5.5 percent. Sang

The expansion of RWAs in spot trading was also clear. Gold-backed tokens and yield-bearing dollar products accounted for a significant share of decentralised exchange trading. CoinShares classified Tether Gold (XAUt) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) as tokenised gold products.

While total decentralised exchange trading volume fell about 70 percent, RWA spot trading gained strength in the secondary market. That means investors are no longer stopping at buying assets directly from issuers and have started trading ownership itself, Cointelegraph reported.