Centralized crypto exchanges are blending TradFi with crypto, and the data shows it’s catching on fast.
TradFi tokenization, where digital tokens represent traditional assets on a blockchain, allows investors to trade stocks, bonds, commodities and other off‑chain instruments on a crypto exchange.
Users also often benefit from 24/7 markets and lower barriers to entry.
Bitget, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2018 that offers a range of crypto‑native products, launched Bitget TradFi in January, opening tokenized access to global forex, commodities, indexes, metals and stock contracts for differences under its Universal Exchange framework.
According to Bitget’s January 2026 Transparency Report, Bitget users traded U$4 billion per day in tokenized TradFi products. Additionally, daily TradFi trading volume doubled from US$2 billion in just two weeks, marking a clear shift in how centralized exchanges (CEXs) are expanding beyond crypto-only markets.
Crypto remained the main business for Bitget, accounting for 88.25 percent of total platform volume, while roughly 11 to 12 percent of all Bitget trading volume came from tokenized TradFi products.
The findings indicate that exchanges are becoming hybrid platforms for tokenized versions of traditional financial instruments alongside Bitcoin, Ether and other altcoins.
The reshaping of the crypto ecosystem
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said that the January numbers show users prefer to manage most of their positions through a single account, reducing boundaries between so-called crypto hours and market hours.
Chen sees a division of roles for the long-term balance:
“CEXs concentrate most of the liquidity and make execution predictable, as one operator is accountable for controls, surveillance and incident response. DeFi, in turn, ensures the open settlement layer where assets can be reused across lending, trading and where new risk tools are deployed way faster since integration is permissionless.
“TradFi growth, as we read it, also means more activity moving into tokenized FX, metals and indices, which increases stablecoin settlement demand and creates exactly those steady hedging needs. Over time, this supports onchain lending liquidity, funding and basis trades, and more sophisticated collateral management inside protocols and wallets.”
This symbiotic setup relies on CEXs proving they can be trusted custodians.
Beyond volume, Bitget’s proof‑of‑reserves disclosures show how big exchanges can leverage strong balance sheets and on‑chain checks as a selling point. Bitget’s average reserve ratio of 163 percent, with Bitcoin at 254 percent and Ether at 161 percent, signals that top CEXs can now credibly claim they hold more than enough to cover user deposits.
The fact that users can verify their inclusion in the proof‑of‑reserves snapshot also suggests transparency is becoming a baseline expectation. That lines up with Bitget’s Universal Exchange strategy. For the industry, liquidity and users are being pulled into centralized gateways, but only if integrity holds.
“Tokenized exposure needs plain-English terms on what the instrument represents, robust price formation (including oracle design and safeguards) and transparent margin and liquidation mechanics,” Chen continued.
“If those pieces are in place, TradFi volume could translate into recurring onchain usage. If they’re weak, the activity risks being short-cycle and not getting a wider spread.”
Rather than replacing DeFi, Bitget may force DeFi to specialize in plumbing, liquidity pools, oracles and settlement rails, while CEXs capture the bulk of retail demand for easy, regulated‑adjacent exposure to global markets.
Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
