Coinbase Tokenized Stocks Top $1B in DEX Volume on Base in One Month

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation announced the DTCC tokenization service on May 4, 2026, a platform designed to bring Russell 1000 components, ETFs, and US Treasuries onto distributed ledgers. With over 50 firms including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Circle, Ondo, and Nasdaq participating, the service moved into limited production in July 2026 following a December 2025 SEC No-Action Letter. DTCC CEO Frank La Salla said tokenization will significantly change how markets operate by bringing new levels of liquidity, transparency, and efficiency to investors, while Brian Steele of the DTCC added that the service is designed to provide systemic scale where deep liquidity already lives. The infrastructure shift extends beyond the DTCC: Nasdaq secured SEC approval on March 18, 2026, under Release 34-105047, to facilitate tokenized settlement on the same order book, ticker, and CUSIP as traditional assets, NYSE Arca followed with rule change SR-NYSEARCA-2026-45 effective April 29, 2026, and the broader NYSE received approval for its own related filings on April 17, 2026. The SEC issued a five-year conditional innovation exemption on September 17, 2026, specifically for tokenized NMS stocks, while the CFTC clarified through Staff Letter 25-39 and an updated FAQ on September 24, 2026, that tokenized collateral may be used for derivatives margin. The tokenized asset market tracked by rwa.xyz stood at approximately $38.6 billion as of late September 2026, up from $2 billion in 2022, with tokenized Treasuries accounting for $14.7 billion to $15.65 billion of that total, led by BlackRock's BUIDL at $2.70 billion, Circle's USYC at $2.60 billion, and Ondo's USDY at $2.23 billion. A June 1, 2026, Citi report estimates a base case of $5.5 trillion in tokenized assets and $1.9 trillion in stablecoins by 2030, though it warns of a messy period in which tokenized and legacy systems operate side by side.

Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise, said that the failure of the Clarity Act draft to advance in the Senate on September 15, by a vote of 49 in favor to 50 against, actually sent the crypto market higher, with Bitcoin rising nearly 11% and Ether up about 12%, while smaller tokens posted far larger gains. Hougan explained that the market may not have gotten clarity from federal-level legislation, but it also avoided a compromise deal that would have held back a major part of the industry, leaving regulators such as the SEC and CFTC to step in with measures he sees as more beneficial than the bill itself. For example, the final version of the bill would have barred platforms from paying interest or yield on stablecoin balances, but when the bill stalled, exchanges such as Coinbase were able to keep offering yields under the existing GENIUS Act framework. Meanwhile, the SEC issued a five-year innovation exemption just days after the vote, allowing limited trading of tokenized U.S. equities through blockchain-based platforms, and SEC staff also provided additional guidance in the past week for projects that buy back their own tokens. Hougan also warned of the risk that a future government could change direction at points where Congress has not locked regulation into law, but for now he said crypto has given up long-term clarity and gotten better regulation, and faster too.