RWA perpetuals open interest nears $20 billion, CryptoRank data shows

Open interest in real-world asset (RWA) perpetual contracts reached $19.8 billion as of Oct. 26, 2026, nearing the $20 billion milestone, according to CryptoRank and DefiLlama data shared by CoinGape and reported by Crypto Briefing. The platform noted that the expansion of RWA perpetuals reflects an ongoing shift toward tokenized assets, potentially broadening institutional involvement and trading strategies.^[1][2][3]

CryptoRank data indicates steady growth in RWA perpetual open interest over recent months. The market stood at $4 billion in May before climbing to $6.7 billion in June, $8.8 billion in July, and $9.9 billion in August. Open interest subsequently climbed to $14 billion in September and reached $17.2 billion earlier in October before hitting the current $19.8 billion mark.^[3]

By sector, public equities represent the largest share of open interest, registering $6.4 billion on centralized exchanges (CEXs) and $2.6 billion on decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Precious metals follow with $4.3 billion on CEXs and $934 million on DEXs, while oil holds $1.3 billion on CEXs and $513 million on DEXs. Equity indices account for $130 million on CEXs alongside $1.1 billion on DEXs, AI and compute infrastructure accounts for $923 million on CEXs and $136 million on DEXs, and equity ETFs register $623 million on CEXs and $91 million on DEXs.^[3]