Real-world assets (RWAs) are moving from experiment to utility, with tokenized versions of traditional investments increasingly showing up as collateral, yield sources, and trading instruments on-chain.

According to a joint CoinShares and Token Terminal report published Thursday, RWA deposits across decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms more than tripled year over year to $7.4 billion in Q2 2026. Over the same period, total DeFi deposits declined by about 15%, underscoring a widening split between broad DeFi activity and RWA-specific demand.

Key takeaways

• RWA deposits surged to $7.4B in Q2 2026, more than tripling year over year, even as overall DeFi deposits fell ~15%.
• Yield-bearing stablecoins and tokenized Treasuries are the largest RWA categories used as on-chain collateral and liquidity.
• RWA spot trading volumes rose ~220% year over year while overall DEX volumes fell about 70%.
• RWA derivatives activity is expanding, with RWA-focused perpetual futures seeing sharp growth since launch on tradeXYZ.

RWA demand is pulling away from broader DeFi trends

The report’s most striking datapoint is the contrast between RWA growth and the cooling of mainstream DeFi. CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti framed the divergence as evidence that RWA demand is not solely dependent on wider market conditions.

“When an asset class grows through a downturn in its host ecosystem, demand is being driven by financial utility, not by market cycles,” Mognetti said in connection with the findings.

CoinShares and Token Terminal also characterize the shift as part of a broader transition: RWAs are increasingly being used for collateral, yield strategies, and trading exposure across onchain markets—rather than merely being issued and held.

Yield-bearing stablecoins and tokenized Treasuries lead deployments

Across DeFi platforms, the report identifies yield-bearing stablecoins and tokenized Treasury products as the dominant RWA asset types in active use.

In Q2, Sky Protocol’s sUSDS was noted as the category leader. The token provides exposure to a yield-generating version of Sky Protocol’s USDS stablecoin, reflecting a growing pattern: traders and borrowers are increasingly looking for stable or cash-like instruments that can also generate returns.

The report also points to tokenized Treasury funds as a major source of on-chain collateral. BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) is specifically mentioned as part of this broader category, suggesting that institutional-grade cash management structures are finding a role inside decentralized lending and borrowing.

CoinShares and Token Terminal further state that yields across RWA products currently span roughly 3.2% to 5.5%. The report attributes the lower end of that range largely to Treasury-linked products, while higher-yield strategies are associated with additional risks. For participants, the practical takeaway is that “RWA yield” is not a single product feature—it is an outcome shaped by instrument type and underlying risk.

Gold and yield-bearing dollars are driving RWA trading

Beyond deposits, the report highlights how RWAs are shaping trading activity on decentralized exchanges. Gold-backed tokens and yield-bearing dollar products accounted for a large share of RWA trading volumes.

CoinShares categorizes gold-backed stablecoins such as Tether Gold (XAUt) and Paxos Gold (PAXG) as tokenized gold products within its RWA framework. The report says these assets generated meaningful trading volume as investors rotated around gold price moves.

On the dollar side, yield-bearing stablecoin infrastructure such as Ethena’s sUSDe contributed to RWA spot activity. The underlying theme is consistent: tokenized real-world exposure is being used as both a return-bearing allocation and a tradable instrument, rather than only a “hold-to-exposure” product.

In terms of performance, the report notes that RWA spot trading volumes rose about 220% year over year despite a broader ~70% drop in overall DEX volumes. CoinShares and Token Terminal interpret the divergence as evidence that tokenized assets are increasingly operating as secondary-market instruments—allowing users to trade ownership and exposure over time, not just participate in primary issuance.

RWAs are reaching derivatives: from spot to leverage

The report also argues that RWAs are expanding into leveraged markets, particularly derivatives—where traders can take exposure without holding the underlying tokenized asset itself.

It notes that RWA perpetual futures trading has continued growing even as crypto-native derivatives overall have slowed. A key example cited is tradeXYZ, described as an RWA-focused perpetual futures platform built on Hyperliquid. The report states that trading volume on tradeXYZ has increased roughly 20 times since launch, with activity concentrating around commodities and major equity indexes, including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, as well as technology stocks. The report also says open interest has continued rising.

For market participants, this matters because derivatives participation can change how RWAs are priced and hedged. If liquidity deepens in futures and perpetual products, the tokenized assets may become more integrated with broader trading and risk-management workflows—though the report does not provide further breakdowns on settlement mechanics or market risk.

What to watch next

With RWA deposits growing while overall DeFi deposits contract, the key question is whether this pattern continues as more yield-bearing stablecoins, tokenized Treasuries, and commodity-linked tokens expand across both spot and derivatives. Investors and builders should watch for further growth in RWA secondary liquidity, changes in risk profiles across yield strategies, and whether derivative platforms sustain their momentum beyond early traction.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law creating a regulated framework for cryptocurrency markets in Russia.

Putin signed bill No. 1194918-8, titled “On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights,” into law on Tuesday, according to official records from the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament. The legislation establishes rules for crypto market participants, including exchanges, brokers, custodians and other crypto service providers.

The law requires crypto exchange operators to meet regulatory requirements and join a financial market self-regulatory organization. It limits retail investors to buying approved crypto assets through intermediaries, with an annual cap of 300,000 rubles ($3,700) per intermediary. Qualified investors will be allowed to purchase any cryptocurrency without such restrictions.

The core provisions of the law take effect on Sept. 1, 2026, while some measures, including rules for non-resident digital depositories, will take effect on July 1, 2027. The law also maintains a ban on using crypto assets to pay for goods and services inside Russia.

The State Duma approved the legislation after final readings in late July. Under the law, the Bank of Russia will oversee the regulated crypto market, issue related rules and determine which crypto assets licensed intermediaries can offer.

Related: Russia expands crypto mining ban to Moscow through 2032

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

On 30 July, BAE Systems reported its first-half 2026 financial results, with sales rising 9% year-on-year to £15.8 billion. Underlying operating profit increased by 11% to £1.7 billion, while underlying earnings per share climbed 13% to 38.9 pence. The company also raised its full-year outlook for sales, operating profit and EPS, supported by a record order backlog of £84 billion following £16.4 billion in newly secured contracts. On the same day, the FTSE 100 reached a fresh intraday high, helped by gains in mining stocks amid stronger commodity prices and positive momentum across industrial companies after encouraging earnings releases. The advance came alongside renewed focus on developments surrounding Iran and expectations ahead of the Bank of England’s rate decision.

Technical Analysis of FTSE 100

The FTSE 100 index has been trending higher since reaching a low near 10,450 on 21 July. The index advanced along a rising trendline towards the red resistance zone around 11,000 before breaking above the trendline and entering a consolidation phase. Currently, the price is trading within the boundaries of the latest volume profile, with the upper boundary at 10,950, the lower boundary near 10,880, and the Point of Control (POC) located at 10,910. The close positioning of these levels creates a relatively narrow trading zone, limiting the space for an extended sideways move.

The current profile is surrounded by key technical levels on both sides. The 11,000 resistance area remains above the market and marks the recent short-term peak, while the green support level at 11,805 could act as a reference if the lower profile boundary is breached. The RSI + MAs indicator is currently showing readings of 50, 54 and 56, with all components remaining in neutral territory and offering no clear directional signal.

Summary

BAE Systems’ strong earnings provide additional fundamental support for the FTSE 100 rally, although the technical picture suggests that momentum has started to slow. The RSI + MAs indicator has moved into a more balanced position, while the index remains below its recent high. Further upside is likely to depend on whether upcoming corporate results can justify current market expectations and maintain investor confidence.

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Sam Blackshear, co-founder and chief technology officer of Sui developer Mysten Labs, says he is stepping away from the company to join Anthropic, where he will work on defensive security research. In a post on X, Blackshear framed the move as a chance to focus on security at a moment when the balance between attackers and defenders is shifting under the pressure of AI-enabled tooling.

Mysten Labs was founded in September 2021 by Blackshear and four former Meta executives. Blackshear said Mysten co-founder and CEO Evan Cheng will take over setting the company’s “technical vision,” as the team continues building on the Move-based smart contract ecosystem behind Sui.

Key takeaways

• Sam Blackshear is leaving Mysten Labs to join Anthropic for defensive security research, with Evan Cheng stepping in for technical vision.
• Blackshear argues AI has accelerated vulnerability discovery and exploitation, pushing smart contract security into a faster, more competitive cycle.
• He cites a personal example: porting a static analysis tool to Sui’s Move language using Claude produced results far faster than prior manual triage.
• Crypto security leaders say restrictions on “frontier” AI access may be reasonable initially, but should evolve as public models reach comparable capability.

Blackshear’s shift from protocol building to defensive security

Blackshear’s announcement positions his next role squarely in the security research lane. He said his motivation comes from the opportunity to apply hands-on technical work to a new problem domain—defending systems against threats that are becoming more scalable and automated.

His note also highlights why the timing matters to the broader crypto industry: as AI increasingly supports tasks like vulnerability identification and phishing automation, attackers can iterate faster across both conventional software targets and blockchain-adjacent infrastructure. Blackshear pointed to the trend of AI being used to accelerate attacks on systems that underpin decentralized finance and crypto operations, not just to exploit smart contracts directly.

A “new world” moment for smart contract static analysis

Blackshear previously discussed how AI coding agents and AI-assisted workflows are reshaping smart contract security. In an April panel he hosted with other security experts, he described a turning point tied to static analysis—specifically, the moment his tools stopped behaving like a purely manual process.

According to Blackshear, he ported a static analysis tool he originally built at Facebook in OCaml-Java over to Move, the programming language Sui uses for smart contracts. He said he used Claude to help make the transition and to flag potential vulnerabilities during the workflow.

Blackshear’s reaction—“whoa”—was driven by the speed and capability he saw. He emphasized that triage, which had been completely manual before, could be addressed much more quickly once the toolchain and AI assistance were in place. He added that the coding effort and triage cycle would otherwise have taken “a long, long time,” pointing to reduced turnaround as a key operational change rather than a purely theoretical upgrade.

This matters for teams responsible for smart contract security because the practical bottleneck is often not just identifying issues, but efficiently processing and prioritizing them—especially when code changes frequently or when audits need to keep up with releases.

Frontier AI access: guardrails versus defender capacity

Blackshear’s comments also connect to a wider debate inside crypto: how to balance safety guardrails around advanced AI models with the need to put sufficiently capable tools in the hands of security teams.

Cointelegraph previously reported that many major crypto firms have sought access to powerful new AI models to strengthen their code against attacks, while many frontier model providers initially restrict access to a small group of companies. The underlying concern raised by executives is that restrictions may slow defenders just as attackers gain automation advantages.

In the same discussion, crypto leaders argued that once publicly available models reach similar cybersecurity capability, access policies should be revisited. Solana Foundation chief information security officer Michael Coates said he understands the rationale for guardrails, but argued that the surrounding verification and acceptance processes should be streamlined so legitimate security teams can use advanced models more reliably.

Coates’ central point was that defender access cannot lag indefinitely. If attackers have tools capable enough to scale, then restricting model access only limits the ability of defenders to respond with comparable speed and effectiveness.

What Mysten’s leadership change could mean for Sui security

Blackshear’s departure transfers direct responsibility for Mysten’s technical vision to Evan Cheng, according to the announcement. While this does not necessarily indicate a change in Sui’s roadmap, it does shift where the company’s expertise emphasis may land internally.

For investors and builders, the most immediate watch item is whether Mysten sustains momentum in areas tied to security tooling and secure development practices—especially given Blackshear’s role in bringing AI-assisted static analysis into the day-to-day security workflow. His move suggests a personal emphasis on defensive research, but the ecosystem implications depend on how the company institutionalizes the techniques and processes he described.

It’s also worth noting that AI-driven security changes aren’t confined to one chain or one organization. As AI assistance for coding and vulnerability triage improves, security workflows across multiple smart contract platforms may begin to converge on similar patterns: faster static analysis, more efficient vulnerability triage, and a tighter feedback loop between code changes and security verification.

In that environment, the competition may shift from “who can find vulnerabilities” to “who can operationalize security at the speed of development.” Blackshear’s example—where triage and coding timelines shrink materially—highlights why defenders are pushing for AI capabilities that are not only powerful, but also accessible and usable without excessive friction.

Readers should watch whether frontier AI providers and crypto organizations continue to refine access policies as public models improve, and whether Mysten publicly outlines how its security and developer tooling strategy will evolve after Blackshear’s move to Anthropic. The next phase of smart contract security may depend as much on workflow design and tooling access as it does on novel detection techniques.