Crypto exchanges diversify with stock and precious metals tokens

Crypto exchanges are rapidly expanding into tokenized traditional financial assets as competition intensifies with traditional finance and decentralized exchanges, Cointelegraph reported. The market capitalization of tokens tied to traditional assets including precious metals, U.S. stocks, commodities, global indices and foreign exchange rose about fivefold to $6.6 billion in June this year from $1.4 billion in January last year. The survey covered major exchanges including Binance, OKX, Bybit, Bitget, Gate and MEXC. Precious metals tokens led the market’s early growth, but U.S. stock products later gained traction quickly. By mid-2026, U.S. stock perpetual futures had surpassed precious metals products in both trading volume and open interest, amid strength in semiconductor-related names and expectations for IPOs. Most trading was concentrated in perpetual futures, while spot trading remained relatively limited. Cointelegraph said the derivatives-heavy market structure reflects investors’ preference for leverage as well as exchanges’ ability to list perpetual futures without directly holding tokens tied to the underlying assets.