95% of Tokenized Stock Traders Are Retail. Here's What They're Buying.

New research from DeFiLlama analyzing Bitget order-book data reveals that 95% of tokenized stock traders are retail investors, with an average trade size of $422. The sector has experienced significant growth, with active market capitalization rising over 140% this year to nearly $2 billion. Investors are primarily utilizing stablecoins to acquire fractional exposure to major technology firms, particularly semiconductor companies, which accounted for nearly half of all trading activity. While retail participants dominate the broader market, tokenized Cisco stock displayed anomalous behavior with $125 million in volume from only 651 traders, suggesting potential institutional or high-net-worth involvement. The study highlights that as the market matures, execution quality and bid-ask spreads are becoming critical competitive differentiators for platforms like Bitget, Kraken, and Robinhood. Despite this rapid expansion, the tokenized equity market remains a small fraction of the global equity landscape. This data underscores a shift where retail-driven, 24/7 fractional trading is currently setting the pace for the asset class. The findings provide a rare empirical look at the composition of the tokenized equity ecosystem, distinguishing it from the institutional-heavy traditional stock market.