Tokenized Stocks Take 11% of DEX Trading, Meme Coins Slip Back
Binance Research sees a shift on DEXs: tokenized stocks are gaining ground, while meme coins are slipping back. The SEC's move toward tokenized U.S. stocks is reinforcing that trend.
Key Takeaways
- Tokenized stocks accounted for an average of 11% of trading on decentralized exchanges in September.
- Meme coins fell back to an average of 17% of DEX trading in September.
- The market value of tokenized stocks crossed the $3 billion mark in the fourth week of September.
Tokenized stocks accounted for an average of 11% of trading on decentralized exchanges in September, while meme coins came in at 17%. That shows part of onchain trading activity is shifting from purely crypto-native tokens to tokenized stocks. Binance Research sees this as part of a broader move in which crypto and traditional assets are increasingly traded side by side on the same onchain rails.
Tokenized Stocks Are Growing Fast
According to the Binance Research report, tokenized stocks were still at almost 0% of DEX trading in 2025. In the first half of 2026, that picture stayed mostly the same, but starting in the summer, it picked up fast. By the end of July, tokenized stocks even briefly passed meme coins, after which the average in September landed at 11%.
That growth fits the rise of the category itself. In the fourth week of September, the market value of tokenized stocks crossed the $3 billion (€2.6 billion) mark, according to RWA.xyz data cited in the report. That makes tokenized stocks the fastest-growing RWA category in 2026.
Meme Coins Lose Ground
Meme coins were still bigger than tokenized stocks in September, but they clearly lost momentum. Their share of DEX trading still ranged between 6% and 53% in 2025, but fell to an average of 17% in September. That shows trading activity on DEXs is leaning less heavily on meme coins than earlier this year.
Underlying activity around tokenized stocks also increased. According to the report, onchain transfers, including trades, rose from $6 billion (€5.3 billion) in the first quarter to more than $100 billion (€88.1 billion) in the third quarter. Tokenized stocks also found their way more often into liquidity pools and lending markets, pushing deposits in tokenized stocks higher over the past year.
Why This Matters for Europe
For European crypto followers, this matters because it shows how onchain trading is expanding beyond the familiar meme coin cycle. If tokenized stocks keep pulling in more volume, that could broaden the role of DEXs and DeFi platforms toward wider market access. The SEC has also already taken an important step toward tokenized U.S. stocks on blockchain platforms, which could further strengthen the link between traditional markets and crypto infrastructure.
