Independent research from Block Scholes has mapped liquidity conditions across four tokenized real-world-asset perpetual futures listed on Bitget’s Universal Exchange, while a separate wave of exchange listings shows crypto platforms deepening their push into commodity derivatives settled in USDT.
Block Scholes published its study on June 15, 2026, examining USDT-margined perpetual contracts tracking gold (XAU-USDT), the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY-USDT), Nvidia stock (NVDA-USDT), and the Invesco QQQ Nasdaq-100 ETF (QQQ-USDT). Using order-book snapshots about one hour into the U.S. equity session on May 18, 2026, the firm found top-of-book spreads of roughly 0.02 basis points on gold, 0.14 basis points on SPY and QQQ, and 0.44 basis points on NVDA. Three minutes after the market open, SPY’s spread was 1.76 basis points before narrowing to 0.14 within the hour. Modeled slippage also improved: a $100,000 market buy on SPY fell from 14.88 basis points at the open to 10.66 an hour later, while a $500,000 order improved from 46.07 to 24.90 basis points.
The report highlighted that resting liquidity on the NVDA-tracking contract reached roughly three-quarters of the depth available on Bitget’s own BTC/USDT spot market by mid-May 2026. Weekends brought volume declines of 65 to 90 percent depending on the contract, but median spreads stayed near weekday levels: about 0.02 basis points for gold, 0.8 for QQQ, 1.0 for NVDA, and 1.3 for SPY. During the February 28, 2026 announcement of U.S. strikes against Iran, spreads widened sharply but briefly, with NVDA rising from a 0.6 basis point baseline to a 3.4 peak before recovering within minutes. QQQ’s depth within 1 percent of the mid-price fell to about $109,000 from a typical Saturday median near $191,000, then returned to that range within a week.
On the product side, Binance listed European-style gold and silver options on July 29, cash-settled in USDT through its ADGM-regulated Nest Exchange. That followed USDT-settled metals perpetuals introduced in January. Shunyet Jan, Binance’s head of exchange and trading, said the move builds on strong demand for commodity perpetuals and offers crypto-native diversification. Spot gold traded near $4,676 an ounce on August 25 against a $5,597 peak on January 29. MEXC launched zero-fee gold and silver futures in January, quoted in USDT and USDC. Hyperliquid offers perpetual swaps for oil, the S&P 500, and gold; S&P Dow Jones Indices licensed the S&P 500 to Trade[XYZ] on March 18, and Ostium lists commodity and equity index perpetuals settled in stablecoins.
Streamex issues GLDY, a gold-backed token that pays up to 4% annualized yield by leasing metal to jewellers through Monetary Metals. Chief executive Henry McPhie said the arrangement turns gold into an active, yield-bearing asset and set a goal of reaching $1 billion in GLDY by the end of 2026. The World Gold Council’s 2026 reserves survey found central banks bought an average of about 1,000 tonnes of gold a year over the past four years, double the prior decade’s average, with 89% of respondents expecting global official holdings to rise over the next 12 months.
Regulatory shifts are also shaping the trend. On March 17, the CFTC and SEC issued a joint interpretation separating digital commodities from securities, with CFTC Chairman Michael Selig calling it clear guidance. Tether has moved in the same direction, buying 70% of Adecoagro for about $600 million with the stated aim of embedding USDT in physical commodity settlement. The key takeaway across venues is that major exchanges are choosing stablecoin settlement for traditional-asset contracts, and the next watchpoint is how regulators outside the ADGM treat those products.
