Tokenized Stocks Hit $1B: A Liquidity Signal, Not a Market Shift

The tokenized stock market has crossed a significant scale threshold. As of January 2026, its total market value stood at about $963 million, representing a year-over-year surge of nearly 2,900%. This explosive growth is matched by trading activity, with cumulative spot trading volume surpassing $1 billion on the Bitget exchange alone.

The volume acceleration was concentrated in a single month. Approximately 95% of that $1 billion total was generated in December 2025, signaling a sharp inflection in user participation. This momentum has carried into early 2026, with daily TradFi trading volume on Bitget doubling from $2 billion to $4 billion in just two weeks, highlighting the rapid adoption of these hybrid products.

This data points to a liquidity signal for crypto-native infrastructure, not a fundamental market shift. The $1 billion trading volume is a fraction of the daily volume in global stock markets. The setup is about efficient, 24/7 access and capital flow within a crypto ecosystem, not a repatriation of traditional market capital.

The Infrastructure Engine: CEXs and Regulatory Rails

The primary engine for this flow is centralized exchanges. Platforms like Bitget are merging TradFi with crypto, offering tokenized assets and seeing rapid growth in trading volumes. Their hybrid model-where crypto remains the main business but TradFi products now account for 11-12% of volume-provides a single account for managing both asset classes. This convenience is a direct catalyst, as users prefer to hedge and rotate without separate workflows.

Regulatory clarity is the essential rail. On January 28, 2026, the SEC issued its most comprehensive guidance to date, confirming that tokenized securities are fully subject to existing federal securities laws. This non-binding statement establishes clear taxonomies and removes a major overhang, allowing the market to scale within known legal boundaries.

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Institutional infrastructure is catching up. The NYSE's recent announcement of a dedicated 24/7 venue for tokenized securities signals that traditional exchanges are building the physical and operational backbone for this market. This convergence of CEX liquidity and regulated exchange rails creates a sustainable growth engine, moving tokenized stocks from niche experiments to a core part of the financial ecosystem.

The Big Picture: Scale, Scenarios, and What to Watch

The $1 billion milestone is a liquidity signal, not a market shift. Tokenized stocks now represent less than 0.0004% of the $147.6 trillion global stock market. This context is critical. The growth is explosive in relative terms, but the absolute scale remains microscopic within the broader financial system.

The primary catalyst for expansion is product diversification. The focus is moving beyond tokenized equities into bonds, commodities, and private credit on regulated platforms. Evidence shows this is already happening, with JPMorgan tokenizing a private equity fund and Siemens issuing a 300 million Euro corporate bond on-chain. The growth potential is framed by Citigroup's projection that tokenized securities could reach $4 trillion to $5 trillion by 2030. This scenario hinges on tokenization solving real-world friction, like the 7% reduction in world output caused by capital and currency controls that limit global equity ownership.

Key risks remain. Regulatory fragmentation across jurisdictions could create compliance costs and limit cross-border flow. The limits of today's market also include uneven liquidity and fragmented standards. A major question is whether 24/7 trading on crypto platforms can sustain volume without a corresponding increase in the underlying asset issuance. The current setup relies on existing shares; true scale may require new issuance to match the on-chain trading velocity.

The outlook is one of gradual institutional integration. The path forward involves regulated platforms like the NYSE's new venue, broadening asset coverage, and solving custody and settlement friction. For now, the $1 billion figure is a powerful signal of infrastructure readiness and crypto-native demand. The next phase will test whether this flow can be productively channeled into the broader, illiquid markets that tokenization promises to unlock.