By 2026, the infrastructure of traditional finance and distributed ledgers began to form a unified system, according to a report by CoinShares in collaboration with Token Terminal.

For the first time, we’re introducing a Hybrid Finance report in collaboration with @tokenterminal to map the shift happening across markets.

From @ethereum to on-chain platforms like @HyperliquidX, @aave, @MakerDAO, and others. Trading, lending, and capital allocation are… pic.twitter.com/5887lRlKIp

— CoinShares (@CoinSharesCo) April 23, 2026

“Public blockchains are settling institutional assets. Wall Street firms are launching funds on Ethereum. Derivatives platforms have fully transitioned on-chain. Bitcoin has become a catalyst for convergence, proving that cryptocurrency can earn the trust of major players. Hybrid finance is the next step,” analysts noted.

According to their definition, hybrid finance is formed at the intersection of three components:

  1. A settlement infrastructure capable of supporting real economic activity.
  2. The tokenization of traditional assets such as treasury bonds, stocks, and commodities.
  3. On-chain applications with sustainable revenue.

This year, the segment is expected to transition from a notable trend to measurable market structures, the report's authors believe.

What the Numbers Show

The largest sector of hybrid finance remains stablecoins. In the first quarter, their total supply reached $297.6 billion, marking a 37.2% year-over-year increase. The market leaders are USDT from Tether and USDC from Circle.

Source: CoinShares.

The volume of tokenized funds surged by 181% over the past year, reaching $9 billion. A significant portion of the demand came from products backed by short-term U.S. treasury bonds.

The market capitalization of digitized stocks increased from $27.6 million to $773.3 million, while commodities exceeded $4.9 billion. The total market value of RWA is estimated at around $29 billion.

Revenue Distribution

Another finding from CoinShares concerns revenue distribution within the new market structure. The highest earnings are generated not by base blockchains but by applications and companies.

In the first quarter, leading on-chain businesses generated $587.9 million in revenue. The majority came from a small group of trading platforms and stablecoin issuers, including Hyperliquid and Sky.

Source: CoinShares.

Issuers form a second layer of monetization. For instance, Ethereum facilitates settlements for approximately $180 billion in stablecoins. With a yield of 4% on underlying assets, this could generate around $7 billion in annual revenue for firms. The network itself only receives transaction fees.

CoinShares referred to this as a structural gap between the economic value serviced by the blockchain and the revenue it actually receives.

Hyperliquid Case Study

As an example of a hybrid model, analysts highlighted Hyperliquid. The platform combines its own L1 blockchain with a perp-DEX.

In the first quarter, the platform earned $178.7 million in revenue, with about 96% of this amount driven by trading activity, while the contribution from the base network was minimal.

Source: CoinShares.

According to CoinShares specialists, the Hyperliquid case demonstrates that the primary economic value in on-chain finance can concentrate at the application level.

Unlike universal blockchains that primarily earn from fees, a vertically integrated platform generates income directly from user activity.

This model puts pressure on universal networks. If revenue continues to concentrate in applications, blockchains will need to find ways to move up the stack—either by launching their own services or integrating more closely with key protocols.

Market Structure Formation

The report's authors concluded that hybrid finance can already be evaluated through specific segments: stablecoins, tokenized funds, stocks, commodities, on-chain businesses, and settlement networks.

According to their description, the value distribution mechanism works as follows: assets attract liquidity, applications convert it into revenue, and blockchains monetize the associated transactional activity.

A key question for the market remains which issuers, applications, and networks will be able to retain liquidity and user activity in the coming quarters.

In April, Jefferies analysts warned that recent hacks in DeFi could temporarily dampen traditional financial firms' interest in adopting blockchain technologies.