The DeFi Quarterly: Q3 2026

Tokenized equities drove a broad DeFi recovery in Q3 2026, lifting onchain trading, stablecoin activity and network revenues despite a modest decline in total stablecoin supply.

• Spot DEX volume increased 13% quarter-over-quarter to approximately $571 billion, while the DEX-to-CEX spot ratio recovered to 23.3% from 20.3%.
• Tokenized-stock spot DEX volume rose roughly ninefold to $50 billion, representing 9% of total spot DEX volume versus about 1% in Q2; BNB Chain and Robinhood Chain led trading, while NVIDIA and SPY were the most-traded assets.
• Robinhood Chain generated about $65 billion of DEX volume and $51 million of network revenue in its first quarter, nearly matching BNB Chain, although a gas change is expected to reduce revenue.
• Adjusted stablecoin transaction volume rose 16% quarter-over-quarter to $781 billion and average monthly active addresses grew 39% to 73 million, even as supply fell 3% to $309 billion.
• Real-world asset value increased 19% quarter-over-quarter to $39 billion, lending deposits rose 51% to $81 billion, and active loans grew 41% to $29 billion; Morpho reached a 19% deposit share.

Takeaway: The report argues that tokenized equities have become the main catalyst for DeFi activity, while stablecoin usage, tokenized assets and lending continue to expand; investors should account for experimental technology, regulatory uncertainty, data revisions and the risk that Robinhood Chain’s exceptional initial revenue will normalize.