Binance Research: Tokenized RWAs Grow 50% to US$34B in H1 2026 as Broader On-Chain Markets Contract

New H1 report finds that BNB Chain captured 83% of on-chain tokenized equity trading volume

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Binance Research, the market research arm of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has recently published a new weekly market commentary titled "Half-Year 2026: On-Chain Markets." The report examines the first half of 2026 across the protocol layer, tokenized RWAs and decentralized finance, documenting where on-chain activity contracted and where new market structure took hold.

The report finds that Ethereum usage rose approximately 50% in 2026, yet chain revenue is projected to fall 53% for the full year. After the gas limit was raised to roughly 60M, average gas prices fell 75% in 2025, with lower fees more than offsetting higher throughput and widening the structural gap between blockspace usage and revenue. The finding raises a broader question for the Ethereum ecosystem about whether scaling Layer 1 and reducing fees are sufficient on their own, or whether sustained revenue growth requires stronger product-led demand.

Binance Research also finds that BNB Chain became the leading tokenized equities chain in H1 2026. On-chain tokenized equities on BNB Chain grew from US$34M at the start of the year to US$652M in July, surpassing Ethereum to capture close to a third of the on-chain total. On-chain tokenized stock trading volume passed US$4.5B in July, approximately 83% of the market, while BNB Chain's tokenized RWA market cap grew 107%, lifting its share of on-chain RWA from 9.8% to 13.5%.

The report further highlights that tokenized RWA value grew from approximately US$22B in January to approximately US$34B by mid-July, up more than 50%. Tokenized stocks and private equity were the fastest-growing categories, rising 177% and 164% YTD respectively, supported by improving regulatory clarity and exchange-led distribution from products including bStocks, xStocks, and Ondo Global Markets. Binance Research projects the tokenized RWA market could reach US$661B in the base case and US$1.6T in the bull case.

Binance Research notes that total crypto losses declined sharply in H1 2026, falling from US$2.3B to US$972M despite a rise in the number of hacks and exploits from 83 to 207, the highest six-month incident count on record. The divergence suggests that while attack frequency is increasing, the financial impact of incidents has become more concentrated rather than broadly distributed across the market. In particular, nearly 60% of total losses were linked to two operational failures at Drift and KelpDAO, underscoring how a small number of infrastructure-related breaches can disproportionately shape aggregate loss figures.

In the report, Binance Research notes: "The next phase will depend on whether secondary liquidity and collateral mobility develop as quickly as primary issuance."

The full report, "Half-Year 2026: On-Chain Markets," is now available on Binance Research.

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