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RWA futures trading volume catches up with crypto at $107.6 billion
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Sep 18, 2026
Real world asset futures have reached $107.6 billion in monthly trading volume, putting contracts tied to equities, commodities and private companies roughly level with crypto futures after a 142 fold increase in nine months.
According to a joint report from OKX and Token Terminal shared with crypto.news, RWA futures generated $107.6 billion in trading volume in July 2026, up from $760 million in October 2025, while crypto futures recorded $105.7 billion during the same month.
The expansion came even as overall onchain derivatives activity cooled sharply. Quarterly derivatives volume fell by more than half from its peak, while open interest dropped to a one year low of $8.76 billion, according to the report.
RWA contracts moved in the opposite direction. Open interest across the category rose 167 fold in nine months to $1.72 billion, leaving the contracts with a growing share of an otherwise weaker derivatives market.
RWA futures have caught up with crypto contracts
OKX and Token Terminal traced the change in trading behavior to the crypto market selloff on Oct. 10, 2025, when more than $19 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated.
Before the event, crypto futures accounted for nearly all onchain derivatives volume. Trading in contracts linked to real world assets remained limited, with the category generating $760 million in monthly volume.
By July, the composition had changed. RWA contracts reached $107.6 billion in monthly trading volume, roughly matching the $105.7 billion recorded by crypto contracts.
Open interest showed a similar divergence. Crypto futures open interest fell from $9.1 billion to $7.1 billion over the nine month period, while RWA open interest climbed from $10.3 million to $1.72 billion.
The report said commodities accounted for 14% of RWA open interest by July, with equities representing 83% and pre IPO contracts making up most of the remaining share.
Activity in related markets has been growing outside the futures segment as well. crypto.news previously reported that the tokenized RWA market had expanded 589% since early 2025, with tokenized stocks recording some of the fastest growth.
Tokenized equity activity accelerated again in August. Monthly transfer volume reached $29.5 billion during the 30 days ending Aug. 29, an increase of more than 415%, while monthly active addresses climbed 209% to 1.3 million.
Commodity trading responds to events outside crypto
The report found that RWA futures activity was increasingly tied to developments in the markets represented by the contracts instead of movements in cryptocurrencies.
Oil provided one example. Following strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, trading volume in an onchain West Texas Intermediate contract increased 149 fold within nine days to $1.69 billion.
Bitcoin volume remained broadly flat during the same period, even as oil trading accelerated. The report linked the difference to traders responding directly to events affecting crude prices.
Sources >> RWA futures trading volume catches up with crypto at $107.6 billion
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