Hotstuff Launches 24/7 Spot Trading for Tokenized Equities, ETFs and Crypto Assets, Targeting the $147 Trillion Global Equity Market

DeFi Layer 1 Hotstuff Expands Beyond Crypto Perps Into Real-World Asset Spot Trading After Surpassing $1 Billion in Derivative Trading Volumes

SINGAPORE, May 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hotstuff Labs, the core contributor to Hotstuff L1, today announced the launch of 24/7 spot markets for tokenised equities, ETFs, and crypto assets on Hotstuff, marking a major expansion from crypto and RWA perpetuals into the $147 trillion global equity market. Powered by xStocks, the integration enables users to buy, sell, hold, and transfer tokenised US stocks and ETFs 24/7. Tokenised Equities on Hotstuff allow users worldwide to gain on-chain exposure to US Equities and ETFs, with each asset being backed 1:1 by the underlying and redeemable for equivalent cash value.

Hotstuff Crosses $1 Billion in Trading Volume Three Months After Mainnet

Since its mainnet launch on February 6, 2026, Hotstuff has grown into one of the top 25 DeFi platforms globally and a top 10 DeFi platform for RWA futures trading, recording over $1 billion in total trading volume across crypto and RWA perpetual pairs in its first 90 days. More than 3,000 active traders are on the platform around the clock.

The platform's nine-week points program has distributed a cumulative 5.9 million points, with the program set to conclude in Q3 2026 ahead of a token generation event (TGE) anticipated in Q4 2026.

Why Tokenised Stocks? Unlocking Access to a $147T Market Opportunity

Despite the global equity market dwarfing the crypto market by a ratio of roughly 54:1 ($147 trillion vs $2.7 trillion), fewer than 1% of on-chain traders currently interact with tokenized equities, held back by poor liquidity, inaccessibility, and fragmented infrastructure.

Hotstuff's tokenized spot markets directly address these barriers:

• 1:1 asset backing - every tokenised stock and ETF is fully backed by real shares held at regulated custodians via Alpaca's Instant Tokenisation Network.
• 24/7 trading - Markets on Hotstuff never close, removing the restriction of traditional exchange hours.
• Hybrid RFQ liquidity - tight spreads across asset classes by tapping deep off-chain liquidity alongside native order books, eliminating the day-one liquidity bootstrap problem, starting with Bebop as the first RFQ partner.
• Instant listings - stocks become tradable the moment they are tokenised.
  
  

The initial launch covers 100+ US stocks and ETFs, with Korean, Chinese and additional global equity markets to be added in a phased rollout.

xStocks Integration Brings Institutional-Grade Infrastructure to DeFi Users

Hotstuff's tokenised stocks and ETFs offering is powered by xStocks, a leading real-world asset tokenisation protocol. The seamless integration unifies on-chain and off-chain liquidity, enabling lightning-fast RWA listings and positioning Hotstuff as one of the most liquid and accessible venues for tokenized equities in the DeFi ecosystem today.

The launch builds on strong momentum: during Hotstuff's recent RWA Trading Competition, RWA volume surpassed crypto volume by nearly 3x, a clear signal of growing institutional and retail appetite for on-chain real-world assets.

What Industry Leaders Are Saying

“Bringing real-world assets like stocks or commodities on-chain goes beyond turning the underlying asset into a token,” says CEO of Bebop Katia Banina, “It’s also bringing the price discovery of the most liquid world venues into the DeFi ecosystem. Hotstuff understands that universal access to financial assets shouldn’t come at a cost of poor execution. That’s why it tapped into Bebop’s on-chain RFQ to ensure excellent pricing quality for the platform users.”

About Hotstuff Labs

Hotstuff Labs is the core contributor to Hotstuff L1, a purpose-built DeFi Layer 1 building the financial OS for global retail users: a vertically integrated platform where users worldwide can trade global assets and derivatives, access tokenised market exposure, earn yield, borrow against their portfolio, and move money 24/7/365 from a single account. Powered by DracoBFT consensus, Hotstuff turns validators into financial service providers that can coordinate off-chain liquidity, fiat and stablecoin orchestration, FX swaps, card issuance, and other API-based financial services.

Website: hotstuff.trade (Invite-only access)

Disclaimer: Tokenized Equities on Hotstuff are not offered, sold, or solicited to U.S. persons or in any jurisdiction where such activity is prohibited. Availability of xStocks on Hotstuff is subject to applicable legal, regulatory, jurisdictional, and platform restrictions. xStocks are tokenized representations of specific U.S. equities and ETFs that provide onchain price exposure to the underlying assets. They are not the same as direct ownership of the underlying securities and do not represent shareholder rights, voting rights, or bank-deposit-like protection. Nothing in this announcement constitutes investment advice, an offer to sell, or a solicitation to buy, sell, borrow, or trade any security, token, or financial instrument.

Media Contact

Hotstuff Labs, press@hotstufflabs.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/82a5f5c0-d2f2-41cd-80ca-5564e90f15a8

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