Recently, HTX's research department HTX Research released the latest research report“On-Chain US Equity Research: From Crypto Perpetual Contracts to the Shift in Pricing Power”, systematically analyzing the evolution direction of crypto trading infrastructure, the background for the rise of on-chain US equity perpetual contracts, the source of PMF (Product-Market Fit), and the structural changes in the pricing power of US stocks as a result.

HTX Research believes that the next round of structural opportunities in the crypto market may no longer come from a new token narrative, but from a shift in the objects that trading infrastructure supports. When on-chain tools are mature enough and high-quality crypto-native assets are relatively scarce, market attention begins to focus on assets that truly have fundamentals and event density. US stocks, especially AI-related US stocks, are becoming the most direct beneficiaries of this shift.

The Structural Contradiction in the Crypto Market: High-Efficiency Infrastructure, Low-Quality Trading Targets

In the past few years, mechanisms such as perpetual contracts, stablecoin margins, automatic liquidation, funding rates, and incentive points have pushed the threshold for participating in financial markets to the historical lows. However, as infrastructure matures, the scarcity of tradeable high-quality assets becomes more pronounced; a large number of altcoins, meme coins, and narrative coins are essentially attention assets rather than cash flow assets, and the market is increasingly tired of "trading for the sake of trading" targets, turning instead to search for assets with real fundamental elasticity.

US stocks happen to fill this gap. Data from SIFMA in the first quarter of 2026 shows that the total market capitalization of US-listed companies is approximately $66 trillion, far exceeding the entire crypto market size; US stocks, ETFs, and options trading volumes all hit new highs during the same period. US stocks, especially AI stocks, not only have fundamentals but also have extremely high event density, with earnings reports, orders, CapEx, export controls, model releases, and Pre-IPO roadshows, each of which can translate into on-chain trading opportunities.

The PMF of On-Chain US Stock Perpetual Contracts: Serving a Group of People Poorly Served by Traditional Finance

Understanding the rise of on-chain US stock perpetual contracts hinges on distinguishing "holding demand" from "trading demand." Tokenized stocks address the "holding" issue, while perpetual contracts solve the "trading" issue. For crypto users, the latter demand far exceeds the former. They may not want to become Nvidia shareholders, but they want to trade NVDA volatility around earnings reports; they may not want to own shares of Cerebras, but they want to bet on IPO opening prices; they may not want to buy shares in OpenAI’s private placement, but they want to trade OpenAI’s valuation expectations.

This group of users shares common characteristics: they are accustomed to 24-hour trading, leverage, stablecoin pricing, and real-time signal acquisition in communities like X, Telegram, and Discord. Traditional brokers find it difficult to serve this segment of people; on-chain US stock perpetual contracts just happen to fill this gap. Data from RWA.xyz shows that the total value of tokenized stocks is about $1.08 billion, with monthly transaction volumes of approximately $2.3 billion, and around 190,000 holders: tokenized stocks have formed an early on-chain circulation market, while the "trading" layer based on these assets has even greater imaginative space.

Pre-IPO Perpetual: The First Clear Display of the Shift in Pricing Power

HTX Research conducted a focused analysis of the Cerebras IPO event. This star company in the AI computing race had its on-chain Pre-IPO Perpetual price consistently above traditional private secondary market quotes for several months, and it was quickly matched by the traditional market after listing. In certain asset categories, the crypto-native market may discover prices earlier and more accurately than traditional private secondary markets.

The reason lies in structural differences. Private secondary market transactions are infrequent, participants are concentrated, and information is asymmetric; pricing reflects the willingness of holders to exit rather than market consensus. In contrast, Pre-IPO Perpetual absorbs real-time expectations from global crypto users in the form of 24-hour continuous trading, making price signals closer to "market consensus."

The true disruption is in the attribution of pricing power. In the traditional system, the pricing power of Pre-IPO assets is highly concentrated in investment banks, PE/VC, and private secondary platforms like Hiive. As the on-chain market begins to absorb trading demand for the same asset in the form of perpetual contracts and demonstrates higher price discovery efficiency, pricing power starts to shift to the crypto-native market, which is the core phenomenon referred to as "the shift in pricing power" in this report.

The AI US Stock Main Line: Rethinking an Investment Line from a Crypto Perspective

AI is the strongest narrative in this round of US stocks. From GPU computing power, HBM memory, and power infrastructure to AI data centers and model applications, the entire AI industrial chain constitutes a pool of targets with extremely high event density, significant volatility, and keen interest from global crypto users.

From a crypto perspective, the appeal of AI US stocks lies not only in the fundamentals themselves but also in their structural resonance with crypto-native narratives: AI computing consumption, AI Agent economy, AI × Crypto infrastructure are daily topics for crypto users. When these users can trade AI US stocks using stablecoins, perpetual contracts, and crypto-native leveraged methods, they are not accepting a new product but are expressing their familiar views with the most familiar tools.

Therefore, the core of on-chain AI US stock products is not to replicate Robinhood or Interactive Brokers, but to repackage US stock assets into forms suitable for crypto users to trade: all-weather, stablecoin priced, high leverage, shortable, combinable, and accessible to DeFi.

Conclusion: From Exchanges to Comprehensive Trading Infrastructure

The emergence of on-chain US stock perpetual contracts marks the shift of crypto trading infrastructure from "serving crypto-native assets" to "carrying a broader range of global assets," and crypto exchanges are evolving from merely matching a single asset category to being closer to comprehensive financial infrastructure.

As an early participant in this trend, HTX has continuously expanded its layout in the TradFi direction this year, continuously expanding its TradFi perpetual contract section and opening up the trading capabilities interface for AI Agent calls through HTX AI Skills. These two types of actions can be seen as two evolutionary paths for crypto exchanges in a new stage: the former addresses the issue of "expandable tradeable assets," while the latter addresses the issue of "upgrading trading interaction methods." Combined, they signify that the boundary between crypto exchanges and global capital markets is being redefined: crypto users are no longer passively waiting for traditional assets to be tokenized, but are capable of participating in the price discovery process of the most liquid global assets with their own tools, rhythms, and narratives.

About HTX Research

HTX Research is the exclusive research department of HTX, responsible for in-depth analysis of a wide range of fields including cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, and emerging market trends, writing comprehensive reports, and providing professional assessments. HTX Research is committed to providing data-driven insights and strategic foresight, playing a key role in shaping industry opinions and supporting informed decisions in the digital asset space. With rigorous research methods and cutting-edge data analysis, HTX Research remains at the forefront of innovation, leading industry thought development, and facilitating deep understanding of the evolving market dynamics. Visit us.

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