ARK Puts Tokenised Real-World Assets Near $39 Billion as Stock Tokens Surge
By Crypto Wire
October 22, 2026
ARK Invest’s DeFi Quarterly for Q3 2026 (Lorenzo Valente and Raye Hadi; data as of September 30) puts distributed tokenised real-world assets near $39 billion — up about 19% in the quarter and more than double year-over-year from roughly $17 billion. TSN’s October 22 wrap of the same report notes rwa.xyz still showing about $39.03 billion distributed value three weeks after ARK’s cut-off. This is an RWA market-map chapter: a quarterly stock-of-tokenised assets print, not a single-product Pendle listing and not a vaulted-card pack day.
Where ARK says growth came from (via the report / TSN): tokenised stocks up about 86% to roughly $3.2 billion; “active strategies” (managed-fund tokens) up about 166% to about $4.0 billion; tokenised credit up about 25% to about $8 billion; tokenised U.S. Treasuries roughly flat near $15 billion and still the largest single block. ARK credits stock-token growth to Coinbase, Robinhood, and Kraken-parent Payward rollouts, plus SEC language clearing trading on permissioned DeFi venues. Trading grew faster than holdings in ARK’s cut: spot volume in tokenised stocks on DEXes is framed around ~$50 billion for the quarter (with ARK also citing a ~4.3× and a ~9× multiple in different sections — do not reconcile beyond what the report states). Chain leaders cited for equity-token trading: BNB Chain (~$16.5B), Robinhood Chain (~$13.7B), Solana (~$6.9B), Base (~$1.7B); NVDA- and SPY-linked tokens led names.
Caveats the desk keeps front: ARK’s RWA charts draw from rwa.xyz, so the report and dashboard are not independent checks; ARK counts only assets using a chain for distribution, not pure record-keeping; Binance incentives may have inflated BNB Chain volume; Robinhood Chain’s early revenue print is unlikely to repeat after a gas change; not every stock token carries shareholder rights (OKX xStocks noted as an example). Keep separate from The Block’s Ethereum RWA-share slide and from Bitget Super Match / rToken product LNs — those are venue or share-of-chain beats, not ARK’s quarterly stock print.
For RWA desks, the actionable cut is mix shift: Treasuries still dominate the stock, but stocks, managed funds, and credit drove the Q3 lift — and DEX equity-token volume is where ARK says the tape moved hardest.
Utility check: Watch whether rwa.xyz distributed value stays near $39B into Q4, whether tokenised-stock DEX volume holds without exchange incentives, and whether ARK’s next quarterly still shows Treasuries as the largest block while equities stay the growth engine.
Bottom line: ARK’s Q3 DeFi Quarterly puts distributed tokenised RWAs near $39 billion, with tokenised stocks up about 86% — Treasuries still largest, equities the growth engine.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or trading advice. The cryptocurrency and NFT markets are highly volatile, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any decisions related to digital assets. The cover image for this article may have been created using artificial intelligence (AI).
