Need to know: A key trading development highlighted for 2026 is the rise of RWA perpetual futures, which provide synthetic exposure to commodities, equities and macro indices without directly tokenising the underlying, thereby avoiding some custody and operational friction. One derivatives venue reportedly closed 2025 with about 53.1 billion USD in tokenised RWA futures volume, indicating meaningful demand for RWA‑linked leverage and hedging products. Separately, T+0 settlement is being framed as an “invisible upgrade” that could push tokenised securities into the mainstream; Deloitte’s 2026 outlook places same‑day settlement for tokenised securities and stablecoins among the year’s central themes.
News in brief:
1. BNY and DigiFT Launch: In one of the most significant moves for public blockchain adoption, DigiFT (a regulated RWA exchange) partnered with BNY to launch the DigiFT U.S. Equity Income Fund (bEQTY). The first actively managed tokenized U.S. equity income fund on the Ethereum blockchain. Unlike static "wrapped" stocks, this is a professionally managed strategy brought on-chain, signalling that custody giants like BNY are moving beyond stablecoins into complex portfolio management.
2. NYSE 24/7 Blockchain Trading Platform: The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) confirmed it is building a blockchain-based venue for around-the-clock trading of tokenized stocks and ETFs. This project aims to bring "instant settlement" to the traditional financial world, potentially ending the T+1 or T+2 settlement cycles.
3. Tokenised Stocks Explode on Solana: Solana has emerged as the dominant network for tokenised equities this week, with total Assets Under Management (AUM) in the sector surpassing $1 billion. Backed Finance expanded its offerings to over 60+ "xStocks," allowing global users to trade tokenised versions of Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft 24/7 with high liquidity. One recent market summary reported that the total on‑chain RWA value is running at roughly 21.35 billion USD, with the number of platforms/issuers increasing from 137 to 140 over the week (about 2.2% growth).
