Aug 10, 2026
Britain's Financial Conduct Authority is working with major banks and market participants to establish standards for tokenized gold, aiming to digitize financial markets and reinforce London's position as the global bullion trading center amid competition from Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Real-world asset (RWA) deposits in decentralized finance platforms surged to $7.4 billion in Q2 2026, more than tripling from the previous year, even as overall DeFi deposits fell approximately 15%. The growth was driven by tokenized Treasury funds and products like BlackRock's BUIDL and Sky's sUSDS, according to a CoinShares report.
Tether announced a strategic collaboration with First Advanced Data for Artificial Intelligence LLC and BKN301 to use its Hadron platform as core technology for institutional tokenization in Saudi Arabia.
Payward, parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, is enabling holders of its xStocks tokenized equities to participate in corporate governance through proxy voting, partnering with Broadridge to facilitate the integration. The move marks a significant shift from the platform's previous policy where xStocks holders had no voting rights.
German exchange operator Boerse Stuttgart Digital and institutional crypto trading firm Tradias have finalized their merger after receiving regulatory approval, forming a combined digital asset infrastructure platform with nearly 300 employees offering trading, custody, staking, and tokenization services.
Wells Fargo announced plans to launch blockchain-based tokenized deposits for corporate and commercial clients, enabling 24/7 fund transfers and settlements. The move comes as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo consolidate their separate blockchain deposit projects into a single shared network operated by The Clearing House.
Western Union has partnered with stablecoin infrastructure provider Rain to launch Stablecard, a digital wallet and Visa-branded card that allows users to hold and spend USDPT, Western Union's US dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Anchorage on Solana. The product is now available in 37 markets globally.
BlackRock introduced blockchain-based tokenized share classes for six European money market funds in its Institutional Cash Series, using JPMorgan's Kinexys platform to mint tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. The initiative marks a significant expansion of digital asset technology into mainstream institutional finance.
BitGo has replaced LayerZero with Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) as the exclusive cross-chain provider for Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), bringing the total value of assets migrating from LayerZero to Chainlink to approximately $14.6-15 billion following recent security concerns.
POAP, which minted over 7.6 million on-chain badges for crypto events and collaborated with major companies like Coinbase and American Express, is winding down operations after failing to achieve profitability. Co-founder Isabel Gonzalez announced the shutdown on August 3, with the protocol entering maintenance mode.
BlackRock introduced blockchain-based tokenized share classes for select European money market funds and launched two new tokenized funds (BSTBL and BRSRV) designed for stablecoin reserve management, all built on Ethereum in partnership with Kinexys by JPMorgan.
Ripple announced strategic investments in two UK-based fintech companies, ZILO and Licuido, to bring regulated transfer agency, issuance, and collateral mobility infrastructure to the XRP Ledger for tokenized capital markets.
ATIF Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: AUC) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire GoldCoin Labs Limited, advancing the company's strategy in tokenized real-world assets and gold-backed digital infrastructure.
On-chain transfer volume for tokenized equities reached $9.22 billion in a single month in 2026, with the tokenized traditional finance market hitting $6.6 billion. Robinhood launched its own blockchain on July 1 to enable tokenized stock trading, with the platform tripling in size since mid-July.
Swift announced its blockchain-based ledger is ready for initial use, with 17 banks from six continents preparing to pilot live transactions using tokenized deposits for 24/7 cross-border payment availability. The system moved from concept to activation in nine months.
Binance and Coinbase announced plans to offer 1:1 backed tokenized versions of U.S. stocks with 24/7 trading, while the DTCC prepares its first live demonstration of asset tokenization and the SEC proposes regulatory changes that could facilitate tokenized securities markets.