ARK Invest: Q3 Tokenized Stock DEX Trading Volume Surges Ninefold to $50 Billion, Accounting for About 9% of Spot Trading Volume

On October 21, ARK Invest released its Q3 2026 DeFi report stating that tokenized stocks have become the primary driver for the rebound in on-chain trading activity during the quarter. Spot DEX trading volume for tokenized stocks in Q3 increased by approximately nine times quarter-over-quarter to around $50 billion, accounting for about 9% of total spot DEX trading volume, up from approximately 1% in Q2. Among them, BNB Chain and Robinhood Chain recorded trading volumes of approximately $16.5 billion and $13.7 billion, respectively, while NVDA and SPY emerged as the most actively traded assets with approximately $3.1 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively.

Overall, spot DEX trading volume in Q3 increased by approximately 13% quarter-over-quarter to $571 billion, marking the first rebound in four quarters. In its first quarter since launch, Robinhood Chain recorded approximately $65 billion in DEX trading volume and generated around $51 million in network revenue, approaching BNB Chain's corresponding level. ARK expects that recent gas adjustments will cause Robinhood Chain's revenue to decline from current levels.

Additionally, perpetual contract DEX open interest increased by approximately 76% quarter-over-quarter to $24 billion, while trading volume declined by about 16% to $1.4 trillion. Hyperliquid alone accounted for approximately $13 billion in open interest, representing about 53% of the total. ARK notes that this reflects a market shift toward fewer, larger, and longer-held positions.