Crypto markets are capturing substantial demand for exposure to traditional assets outside regular U.S. trading hours, according to Binance Research, highlighting how real-world asset-linked perpetual futures and tokenized equities are creating a parallel, 24-hour market structure.
The trend is particularly visible when Wall Street is closed. Binance said monthly weekend trading volume in perpetual contracts linked to traditional-market assets across crypto exchanges reached roughly $28 billion by mid-August, up from approximately $4.5 billion earlier in 2026. Binance accounted for nearly half of that activity. The growth comes as traditional exchanges themselves move toward longer sessions. Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange have been pursuing extended trading schedules approaching 23 hours on weekdays, reflecting international demand for U.S. asset exposure beyond the conventional 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern session. Crypto-based products go further by remaining available on weekends. For traders outside North America, that difference can determine whether exposure is available during their normal waking hours.
Billions Trade While Wall Street Is Closed
Binance Research has found the same behavior in tokenized equities. Approximately 62% of Binance bStocks volume in July occurred outside regular U.S. market hours, while 58% of cumulative Binance bStocks volume since launch had been executed while underlying markets were closed. By July 28, about $1.5 billion had changed hands on Binance during those closed-market periods. Onchain activity was even more concentrated outside Wall Street hours. During the seven days through July 28, 92% of onchain bStocks trading volume occurred while U.S. markets were closed, compared with 59% on Binance itself. Activity onchain peaked around 8 p.m. Eastern and remained elevated through the Asian trading session.
That geographical pattern is important. Separate Binance Research data found that close to 93% of Binance stock-trading users came from emerging markets, suggesting that extended access is addressing demand beyond the existing U.S. investor base. Perpetual futures offer another route because traders gain price exposure without owning the referenced security.
RWA Derivatives Grow Alongside Tokenization
The scale of RWA-linked derivatives is already significant. Binance Research reported in July that traditional-finance-linked perpetuals had generated more than $1.1 trillion of aggregate volume during the first five months of 2026, representing roughly 11% of overall perpetual-futures trading. Binance accounted for more than $500 billion, or approximately 47% of the segment. The trend is now extending into private-company exposure. Binance Research said perpetual open interest linked to pre-IPO companies OpenAI and Anthropic exceeded $160 million by September 15, compared with roughly $1 million in April. Aggregate pre-IPO perpetual volume reached $436 million in June following SpaceX’s listing, while September volume had already exceeded $98 million by mid-month.
These products do not confer ownership in the referenced companies, an important distinction from tokenized securities. Instead, they provide derivative exposure whose pricing can continue when the underlying traditional market is unavailable — or, for private companies, when no public underlying market exists at all. Meanwhile, tokenized RWA assets reached $34.18 billion in assets under management by September 15, up 85.2% year-to-date, according to Binance Research. Tokenized equities were among the fastest-growing categories, rising 390.4%. The data suggest that the emerging competition is no longer simply about putting stocks and other real-world assets on blockchains. Increasingly, it is about when those exposures can trade. RWA-linked perpetuals are capturing activity during nights, weekends and Asian trading hours that conventional U.S. markets historically leave unserved — turning continuous access itself into one of crypto market infrastructure’s principal selling points.