More than half of the trading activity in a sample of tokenized US equities took place outside the regular Wall Street session, according to an analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The study also found that most transactions represented less than one conventional share, while tokenized products showed higher volatility and weaker liquidity than the stocks they track.
Tokenized equities extend trading beyond regular hours
The findings were published in the IMF’s October Global Financial Stability Report and arrive as financial institutions and exchanges explore blockchain-based systems for issuing and trading US securities.
The IMF examined five heavily traded tokenized equity products issued by Ondo and xStocks. The products provided exposure to the S&P 500, the Nasdaq, and shares of Tesla, Alphabet and Nvidia. Researchers reviewed more than 2 million observations of five-minute prices and trading volumes across 11 centralized and decentralized venues over 365 trading days.
The sample represented about $345 million in market value. That was approximately 15% of the estimated $2.3 trillion? No, source says $2.3 billion tokenized equity market as of July 31, making the sample around 15% of that market.
More than half of the recorded volume occurred beyond the regular US stock-market session, which runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time. Activity included overnight and weekend trading, periods when conventional US exchanges are closed.
According to CryptoSlate, the IMF said this pattern was consistent with demand from people in different time zones and from traders who want to act on new information without waiting for the next US market open. Tokenized equities are digital representations of stock exposure recorded on blockchain networks, allowing platforms to offer trading outside the schedule used by traditional exchanges.
Approximately 80% of the transactions in the sample involved less than one share. The result points to demand for fractional exposure, although the IMF inferred the likely retail orientation from transaction sizes rather than directly identifying the participants as individual investors.
Overnight prices showed a strong link to US market moves
The report found that trading outside regular hours was not entirely disconnected from the traditional equity market. IMF researchers compared overnight price changes in tokenized shares on centralized exchanges with the performance of the corresponding securities during the first five minutes of the next US trading session.
The estimated pass-through ranged from 87% to 99%. In other words, most of the overnight movement observed in the tokenized products was reflected in the initial adjustment of the related conventional securities once US exchanges reopened.
That relationship suggests tokenized markets can incorporate information while traditional exchanges are closed. However, the analysis did not establish that tokenized trading causes the subsequent movement in listed shares. Both markets may be reacting to the same news or other developments, with conventional prices adjusting when their normal trading session begins.
During regular US market hours, tokenized products generally tracked their underlying securities. The relationship was less stable on decentralized venues, where lower trading volumes were associated with wider and more frequent differences between tokenized prices and the assets they represent.
Higher volatility and thinner liquidity remain obstacles
The ability to trade continuously came with trade-offs. Realized volatility for the tokenized equities was about 1.5 times the level recorded for their traditional counterparts. Volatility increased further on decentralized platforms.
The comparison is affected by the different trading schedules: tokenized products trade continuously, while the traditional-market measure covers regular US hours. Even so, the IMF found that conventional exchanges remained substantially more liquid than tokenized venues. Centralized crypto exchanges performed better than decentralized exchanges, but the latter had limited market depth and market-making activity.
As a result, relatively small transactions on decentralized platforms could cause disproportionately large price changes. Such conditions may make it harder for tokenized equities to expand beyond their currently limited market, particularly if wider adoption brings more trading during periods when liquidity is thin.
The IMF estimated that public tokenized real-world assets, excluding repurchase agreements and stablecoins, had reached about $65 billion by July. That compares with roughly $300 trillion in traditional capital-market assets. At current adoption levels, the Fund said systemic risks remain limited, but it warned that broader use of continuous trading and automated settlement could increase the speed and intensity of market stress.
Automated collateral systems could, for example, trigger margin calls and forced liquidations overnight or at weekends. Those sales could take place when fewer buyers and market makers are available, potentially intensifying price declines.
The IMF highlighted legal certainty, regulatory clarity, interoperability between trading networks and dependable settlement assets as key requirements for further growth. It also said market participants and regulators still need clarity on whether holders of tokenized securities receive direct ownership rights to the underlying shares or only contractual exposure to their prices.
The Fund called for safeguards designed for markets that operate continuously, including circuit breakers, trading halts and liquidity protections. It also urged closer monitoring of links between tokenized and traditional finance and an assessment of whether existing investor protections work during overnight and weekend trading.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar data at 10:04 a.m. on Oct. 13, 2026, showed Lighter (LIT) at $3.3578417594, down 11.23% over 24 hours and 14.23% over seven days. Ethereum Name Service (ENS) stood at $5.9766477489, down 4.97% in 24 hours and 13.07% over seven days.
Walrus (WAL) was priced at $0.0381423779, up 0.28% over 24 hours and 4.35% over seven days. RedStone (RED), measured by Moneyiar at 10:03 a.m., was $0.1561310531, down 7.21% over 24 hours and 5.62% over seven days. These figures describe the selected digital assets and are separate from the IMF’s findings on tokenized equities.
