BlockBeats said on Aug. 26 that a recent study pointed to fast growth in the tokenized stock market. Since the beginning of 2026, trading volume in tokenized stock perpetual contracts has surged from roughly $16 billion in 2025 to more than $590 billion. Spot trading volume, too, has moved past $88 billion.
Market growth has put structure and investor rights in focus
The report said that as the market expands, the bigger question for investors is the legal setup and rights structure behind tokenized stocks. Big volume by itself tells you very little about what holders actually own, or what protections they may really have.
Three main models are now used in the market
According to the study, tokenized stocks now sit in three main buckets: issuer-backed, custodial, and synthetic.
- Issuer-backed: These tokens may directly stand for ownership of shares and can come with rights linked to voting, dividends, and corporate actions.
- Custodial: These setups give holders matching economic rights through a securities intermediary.
- Synthetic: These tokens are, at base, contractual claims on a third party and do not amount to direct ownership of the underlying stock.
Synthetic structures may carry added risk
The study said synthetic tokens can bring counterparty risk, tracking risk, and problems tied to the transmission of corporate actions, because they do not directly represent ownership of the underlying shares.
Demand may keep rising, but the distinction remains critical
The report said demand for tokenized stocks will probably keep climbing as regulatory frameworks get clearer and blockchain-based settlement infrastructure keeps maturing. But investors still need to figure out whether the asset they hold is real equity ownership or synthetic exposure layered on top of it. That split matters. It shapes the rights they get, the risks they take on, and the legal protection available to them.