Hyperliquid RWA volume hits $25.1bn, overtakes crypto
Tokenized real-world assets have eclipsed traditional crypto perpetuals on the Hyperliquid decentralized exchange, signaling a fundamental shift in digital asset demand toward blockchain-based traditional finance.
Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) accounted for more than half of all trading on decentralized exchange Hyperliquid last week, overtaking crypto perpetuals for the first time.
Between July 13 and July 19, RWA trading generated $25.1 billion in volume. This represented 52% of the platform's $48.2 billion total for the week, according to Blockworks data.
The scale of this activity highlights the rapid maturation of the tokenization sector. “Hyperliquid’s RWA market alone was larger than the combined crypto perpetual volume of every other DEX,” wrote Lorenzo Valente, ARK Invest’s research director for digital assets.
User adoption is accelerating alongside this volume. Over the past month, the number of RWA holders grew by 32% to 1.25 million. The total value of tokenized RWAs increased 3.5% to $36.7 billion, according to data aggregator RWA.xyz.
This trading activity translated into significant revenue for the exchange. Hyperliquid generated $7.6 million in fees over the past week, DefiLlama reported. This ranked the platform third among all crypto applications, trailing only stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle, which recorded $112 million and $45 million respectively.
Industry executives view the volume milestone as a turning point for the digital asset market. Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire described the trend as a “major structural shift” that moves crypto “away from speculating on endogenous digital commodities.”
The shift reflects a broader push by crypto-native firms and traditional financial institutions to bring real assets onto blockchains. In March, the NYSE partnered with tokenization platform Securitize to develop infrastructure for 24/7 stock trading and settlement.
Perpetual futures, the dominant instrument on Hyperliquid, are increasingly seen as the vehicle for this migration. Pantera Capital recently argued that perps could become a dominant trading instrument outside of crypto because they offer 24/7 trading, no contract expiries, simpler position management and continuous price discovery.
Traditional market operators are positioning themselves for this convergence. Jeffrey Sprecher, CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the NYSE, has urged regulators to establish a “level playing field” to allow the launch of 24/7 onchain perpetual futures contracts.
