Real-World Assets & On-Chain Commodities

The CFTC’s Market Participants Division and Division of Clearing and Risk published FAQs on September 3 addressing tokenized assets as collateral in futures and swaps trading, building on prior staff letters (25-39 and 26-05). The guidance provides clarity on eligibility, custody, haircuts, and operational requirements for tokenized real-world assets like Treasuries while maintaining technology-neutral rules. It supports broader adoption of on-chain collateral in regulated derivatives markets, directly aiding commodity and RWA perpetuals liquidity. Read →

Hyperliquid Policy Center and TradeXYZ filed a joint comment letter with the CFTC on August 26 seeking a regulatory framework for energy perpetual contracts on WTI crude, Brent crude, and Henry Hub natural gas. Their on-chain markets have already processed over $500 billion in volume since October 2025, with research showing perpetual prices anticipated 75% of weekend reopenings during prior shocks. The push highlights 24/7 hedging advantages for U.S. firms when traditional futures close, positioning on-chain commodity perps as complements to dated benchmarks. Read →

As of Aug 3 tokenized RWAs on public chains totaled $37.29 billion excluding stablecoins, with commodities at $4.6 billion. Industry voices including Matrixdock’s Eva Meng stress that on-chain token records do not automatically confer enforceable real-world rights; settlement and physical delivery when rights are exercised remain the decisive test. A cited April 2025 case saw 32.148 XAUm burned and a 1 kg LBMA gold bar delivered in T+3, illustrating the gap between token holding and actual asset transfer. Read →

Ondo Finance submitted comment letters to the SEC and CFTC on Aug 24 urging regulators to treat perpetual futures on individual U.S. stocks as security futures products under existing law. Its offshore affiliate has already generated $8 billion in cumulative volume on stablecoin-settled stock perps in roughly six weeks. The move aligns with broader industry efforts, including Hyperliquid’s parallel filing, to onshore RWA-linked derivatives amid rising tokenized equity activity. Read →

The Hyperliquid Policy Center released research showing on-chain oil perpetuals limited a simulated $10 million hedger's weekend loss from $1.58 million to about $62,000 during the March Iran-related shock. Perpetual prices predicted nearly 75% of Sunday benchmark reopenings across studied weekends. The filing responds to the CFTC's extended comment period on 24/7 futures and perpetuals for physical energy commodities. Read →

Hyperliquid Labs is in advanced talks with Payward (Kraken parent) to route crypto perpetual futures to US traders through Bitnomial, subject to CFTC approval that could take 10-12 months. President Trump previously noted CFTC Chair Michael Selig's work to bring Hyperliquid onshore in compliant form. The move would expand access beyond offshore platforms amid broader regulatory efforts to onshore perpetuals. Read →

Dune released a new Real-World Assets dataset covering 6,800+ token deployments across 258 issuers and 21 chains. It tracks holders, transfers, trades and synthetic exposure via perpetuals. Early findings show perpetuals on gold and equities traded $103 billion versus $4.1 billion in onchain spot volume over the four weeks to Aug. 24, with RWA perps rising from 0.2% to 51% of Hyperliquid monthly volume in nine months. Read →

Hyperliquid announced Aug. 28 that real-world asset perpetual open interest reached an all-time high of $3.6 billion, representing 33% of the platform’s total $11 billion open interest. The milestone follows the Aug. 26 launch of its AQAv2 yield program directing proceeds from $6.74B in USDC deposits toward HYPE buybacks. RWA products now form a material and growing share of activity on the leading on-chain perp venue. Read →

Tokenized commodities reached approximately $3.93 billion in value, up 11% in the prior month per RWA.xyz data, led by Tether Gold (XAUt) at $1.74B and Paxos Gold (PAXG) at $1.61B. Spot gold and silver hit fresh all-time highs, boosting demand for on-chain exposure that enables 24/7 fractional trading and collateral use outside traditional hours. The category remains overwhelmingly gold-focused while broader RWA tokenized assets continue expanding. Read →

Hyperliquid Policy Center and trade[XYZ] filed a joint CFTC comment letter on Aug. 26 seeking a regulated framework for perpetual contracts on WTI crude, Brent crude and Henry Hub natural gas. Their on-chain markets have processed over $500 billion notional volume since October 2025, with data showing the perps anticipated 75% of weekend benchmark reopenings. The filing proposes technology-neutral rules, 24/7 trading, stablecoin/tokenized collateral and on-chain clearing to let US hedgers manage energy risk continuously. Read →

Bitfinex Securities completed a record $50 million tokenized capital raise for Alkemya Metacore via ALKN, a security backed by limited partnership interests in a Luxembourg vehicle holding 7 million meters of 99.99%-pure nickel wire valued at $1.64 billion. Proceeds will fund commercialization of engineered nickel products for semiconductors, aerospace, defense and green hydrogen. ALKN subscriptions stay open to eligible investors until Oct. 15 under El Salvador rules; it marks the platform’s largest raise and first tokenized industrial metals product. Read →

Bitfinex Securities finalized its largest-ever $50 million tokenized raise for Alkemya through ALKN, representing fractional interests in a partnership owning high-purity nickel wire independently valued at $1.64 billion. The offering is the first tokenized commodity under El Salvador’s digital-asset framework and will support Alkemya’s Green Transitional Metals subsidiary. Additional tokens remain available until Oct. 15 with secondary trading to follow later tranches. Read →

Hyperliquid Policy Center and trade[XYZ] submitted a joint Aug. 26 comment letter to the CFTC requesting a regulatory framework for perpetual contracts on WTI crude, Brent crude and Henry Hub natural gas. The filing cites over $500 billion in cumulative volume on their Hyperliquid HIP-3 markets since October 2025 and argues 24/7 on-chain trading captured much of the price discovery during recent Middle East supply shocks when traditional futures were closed. The groups seek technology-neutral rules allowing stablecoin margin and on-chain infrastructure under existing authority. Read →

Dallas Fed economists Rosie Levy and Srini Ramaswamy estimated that if tokenized deposits raise depositor rate sensitivity by 10%, U.S. banks' capacity to hold long-term interest-rate risk could fall by roughly $700 billion in 10-year equivalents. A separate scenario with 10% shorter deposit duration projected a $580 billion reduction. The analysis highlights risks from instant settlement and programmable AI-driven transfers amid banks building tokenized-deposit networks. Read →

POSCO International America completed a live pilot tokenizing real trade receivables on an Avalanche-based Layer-1 network run by Intain, with Olea purchasing the assets using actual capital. AI verified invoices, purchase orders and shipping documents before on-chain registration. The deal follows POSCO's July Injective pilot and expands tokenized trade-finance experiments by the $22 billion South Korean trading firm. Read →

The Hyperliquid Policy Center filed a comment letter calling for a harmonized SEC-CFTC framework classifying perpetual contracts by economic structure rather than underlying asset. HIP-3 builder markets have generated over $480 billion in notional volume and hold roughly $4 billion open interest, spanning crude oil, gold, equities and other commodities. The push aims to enable U.S. competition on execution and liquidity for 24/7 on-chain commodity perps. Read →

Hyperliquid Policy Center submitted an Aug. 24 comment letter advocating treatment of qualifying cash-settled equity perpetuals as security futures under the existing joint SEC-CFTC regime. The filing notes HIP-3 markets have processed over $480 billion notional volume in 10 months with $4 billion open interest across oil, gold and equities. Proponents say uniform classification by product features avoids regulatory arbitrage for commodity-linked perps. Read →

Hyperliquid Policy Center filed comments this week pressing SEC and CFTC for a single framework for perpetual contracts based on futures-like features instead of asset class. Markets now cover crude oil, precious metals and equities with cumulative HIP-3 notional volume exceeding $480 billion. The effort targets clearer U.S. pathways for on-chain commodity exposure without jurisdictional splits. Read →

Token Terminal data showed tokenized commodities rising $297.5M over seven days while tokenized funds fell $674.2M, leaving net RWA down $210.5M. Gold-backed tokens including Tether’s XAUT and Paxos’s PAXG drove the commodity gains, pushing the category toward a roughly $7.5B market cap earlier in August. The divergence underscores that tokenized commodities move independently from other RWA segments. Read →

Trade.xyz perpetual futures on Hyperliquid have generated roughly $500 billion in cumulative volume since October, with the vast majority from RWA-linked contracts including crude oil, gold, and silver. The platform provided continuous pricing for oil during a February Middle East conflict when traditional markets were closed. Hyperliquid and Trade.xyz are now seeking regulatory pathways for expanded U.S. onshore trading of these commodity and equity perps. Read →

Matrixdock integrated a dedicated real-time price feed for its XAGm tokenized silver token on the Pyth Network, enabling on-chain silver pricing on Sui and Ethereum. The move pairs with its existing XAUm gold feed and supports lending, trading, and collateral use cases for the LBMA-backed silver asset. Both gold and silver products now have institutional-grade oracles to improve composability in DeFi. Read →

Bitcoin volatility hit decade lows while tokenized commodities advanced with gold extending rallies. President Trump highlighted CFTC efforts to onshore Hyperliquid for compliant U.S. trading of perpetual futures including commodities. This positions on-chain commodity markets for broader institutional access beyond traditional hours. Read →

President Trump stated CFTC Chair Michael Selig is advancing efforts to bring Hyperliquid onshore in a fully compliant manner. The move targets the platform's 24/7 perpetual futures on oil, gold, and other commodities. Traditional exchanges like CME raised concerns over manipulation risks in these on-chain markets. Read →

Tokenized RWAs approached $40 billion with commodities at $4.88 billion distributed value, led by Tether Gold. Ethereum dominates tokenized commodity networks. Growth reflects diversification beyond Treasuries into gold and other on-chain exposures despite regulatory delays on innovation exemptions. Read →

President Trump stated at a White House meeting that CFTC Chairman Mike Selig is working to bring the decentralized perpetuals platform Hyperliquid into the U.S. in a fully compliant manner. The comments follow ongoing CFTC engagement with Hyperliquid on regulatory pathways and come amid broader administration pushes for the Clarity Act. Hyperliquid offers on-chain perps including commodities like gold and oil, directly tying the development to tokenized commodity markets. Read →

Options volume on Hyperliquid Strategies surged nearly eight times the 30-day average after Trump's comments, with heavy call buying including large November and December 8-strike trades. HYPE token jumped 18% and shares of Hyperliquid Strategies rose 30%. The platform's commodity perps exposure amplifies the regulatory signal for on-chain commodity trading. Read →

President Trump said at a White House event that CFTC Chair Mike Selig is working to bring the decentralized perpetuals platform Hyperliquid into the US in a fully compliant manner. HYPE rose 11% on the comments, which signal regulatory priority for the venue dominant in tokenized equity and commodity perps. The move underscores US efforts to onshore crypto derivatives infrastructure including commodity markets. Read →

President Trump stated US regulators are working to bring Hyperliquid, a fast-growing crypto platform for perpetual futures including tokenized commodities and equities, into the country. The comments at a White House event with crypto executives mark a clear signal for pulling offshore market infrastructure onshore under CFTC oversight. Hyperliquid has seen RWA-linked contracts generate over half its volume in recent weeks. Read →

Deputy chief of the Jakarta Futures Exchange said Indonesia’s planned Strategic Mineral and Commodity Exchange by Jan. 1, 2027, can leverage existing platforms. President Prabowo Subianto announced the bourse last week to build reference prices for key exports and influence global commodity pricing. The effort reflects ongoing government intervention in natural resources markets. Read →

XAUT deposits on Aave rose from $40M in early June to $76.7M. Users now deposit the gold token as collateral to borrow USDT or USDC, turning static holdings into working capital. Aave holds over half of all tokenized gold in DeFi lending, with platform stablecoin utilization at 82.5%. Read →

Philippine bank RCBC and crypto exchange PDAX signed an MOU to integrate tokenized gold into RCBC mobile banking. The partnership starts with gold tokenization to enable fractional ownership for retail clients. It remains subject to regulatory approval and further development. Read →

Nado launched XAUT0 support for spot trading and unified margin across crypto, equity, commodity, and FX perps. Tokenized gold backed 1:1 by physical bullion now serves as collateral in a single account. The move expands RWA utility on the Ink-built platform. Read →

Nasdaq entered a definitive agreement to acquire LeveL Markets, the third-largest U.S. ATS with 2,500 institutional clients. It will create a new Digital Liquidity Networks division consolidating tokenization capabilities. The move advances Nasdaq's strategy for programmable, 24/7 markets spanning traditional and digital assets including tokenized equities and commodities. Read →

Tokenized stocks now account for about 15% of the total RWA market, tripling from the start of the year per rwa.xyz data. Total market capitalization reached about $2.8 billion. Growth reflects regulatory progress and platform launches expanding on-chain equity exposure. Read →

The UK’s FCA has held talks with banks on rules allowing tokenized gold as collateral in wholesale markets, including for uncleared OTC derivatives. The push aims to digitize markets and defend London’s 70% share of global gold trading amid competition from Asia. An announcement on standards is expected within months. Read →

Tether Gold (XAUT) market cap rose $237 million over the past 30 days, driving a $362 million expansion across tokenized commodities to roughly $5.5 billion. XAUT, backed by physical gold in Swiss vaults and trading near $4,040 per token, now sits between $2.48 billion and $2.67 billion, solidifying its lead. The surge signals sustained investor flows into on-chain gold exposure amid broader tokenized commodity demand. Read →

Real-world assets including tokenized equities and commodities drew 169,000 new wallets to Hyperliquid in H1 2026, or 31.7% of all new users. Over 80% of those RWA-focused wallets remained active in the category rather than migrating to crypto-only trading. The influx underscores how commodity and equity perps are expanding the platform's user base beyond pure crypto traders. Read →

RWAs accounted for 31.7% of Hyperliquid's new user growth in the first half of 2026, onboarding 169,000 wallets. Roughly 137,000 of those stayed focused on RWA markets such as tokenized gold, silver, and oil perps. The data highlights accelerating adoption of on-chain commodity futures as a core growth driver for the decentralized exchange. Read →

Enhanced launched the PAXG Volatility Income/Yield Vault on Ethereum, the first in its Thesis Vaults series. Depositors lock PAXG and the vault sells bi-weekly out-of-the-money covered calls via RFQ auctions to institutional makers, distributing USDC premiums every two weeks. The product targets 4-14% annualized yield depending on volatility while preserving upside exposure up to the strike, addressing the zero-yield nature of the $5B tokenized gold market. Read →

Shinhan Asset Management signed an MOU with Plume Network for a proof-of-concept on KRW-denominated tokenized funds backed by ultra-short-term won bonds in an offshore jurisdiction. The PoC will test issuance, distribution, KYC/AML, whitelist transfers, and on-chain operations modeled on BlackRock's BUIDL, with no domestic resident participation. Plume holds an SEC-registered Transfer Agent license and participates in DTCC's digital assets working group. Read →

Tether announced KPMG US issued an unqualified opinion on its full 2025 financial statements, the company's first comprehensive independent audit covering balance sheet, income, cash flows, and token backing. The audit verified assets supporting issued tokens including expanded XAUt gold reserves that rose 9.5% in Q2. This milestone follows years of attestations and supports regulatory compliance efforts for the largest stablecoin issuer. Read →

The SEC will hold an open meeting Friday at 10 a.m. ET to consider proposing a tailored offering regime for certain crypto investment contracts. It is also preparing to release details of an innovation exemption allowing tokenized versions of securities to trade 24/7 on blockchains with near-instant settlement. The moves come as the Senate delays a vote on the CLARITY Act until mid-September. Read →

Metals.io has issued tokens for uranium, nickel and cobalt that holders can redeem for physical metal with proper approvals. The platform brings tokenized physical commodities to blockchain rails, expanding access beyond traditional metals markets. Read →

Plume, an RWA-focused blockchain, joined the DTCC working group alongside Schwab, Nasdaq and others to shape tokenized securities standards. It will contribute compliance expertise via its SEC-registered transfer agent and on-chain security tools ahead of the DTC tokenization service launch. Read →

Tether is shutting down its Alloy platform and gold-backed aUSDT stablecoin, giving holders until Sept. 17 to redeem for XAUT collateral. The product launched in 2024 with a peak market cap near $1.2 million but saw limited adoption. Tether is redirecting resources to higher-demand areas including its larger XAUT tokenized-gold token, now backed by over 22,000 kilograms of physical gold. Read →

The UK Financial Conduct Authority is discussing standards with major banks for using tokenized gold as collateral in wholesale markets and uncleared OTC derivatives. London handles roughly 70% of global gold trading and seeks to maintain its position through clearer rules rather than new retail products. Sixteen firms are already testing tokenized assets in the FCA’s Digital Securities Sandbox. Read →

The UK Financial Conduct Authority is consulting banks on standards allowing tokenized gold as collateral in wholesale markets including uncleared OTC derivatives. London handles 70% of world gold notional trade and seeks to counter Shanghai competition via digitization. Progress on the framework is expected within months as part of a broader digital assets strategy. Read →

The FCA is preparing rules for tokenized gold representing physical bullion ownership, focusing on its use as collateral. The move supports UK plans to digitize wholesale markets and add tens of billions of pounds to annual output. An FCA spokesperson confirmed monitoring tokenization developments and plans further statements soon. Read →

XAUE Protocol and ListaDAO started a rewards campaign running August 10 to October 8 for slisXAUE, a yield-bearing token on Tether Gold (XAU₮). Users deposit XAU₮ via Lista RWA to receive slisXAUE and can earn up to 8% combined APY through time-weighted holdings. The effort expands tokenized gold utility in DeFi while preserving gold exposure. Read →

Hyperliquid's RWA perpetuals on crude oil, gold and equities reached a record $3.6 billion open interest this month, surpassing Bitcoin to become the largest category. Builder-deployed HIP-3 markets now drive about half of total volume, with tokenized stocks and commodities accounting for 52% of one week's activity. Revenue to the protocol has fallen for four straight quarters even as 30-day perp volume hit nearly $178 billion. Read →

The UK Financial Conduct Authority is discussing standards for tokenized gold with major banks to enable its use as collateral in uncleared OTC derivatives. The move builds on a May joint policy paper and aims to support London's 70% share of global gold trading against Asian competition. Sixteen firms are already testing tokenized assets in the Digital Securities Sandbox. Read →

HIP-3 permissionless markets on Hyperliquid closed above $4 billion open interest for the first time. Over 60% of oil perp volume now occurs outside US market hours. The growth highlights 24/7 on-chain commodity trading demand. Read →