The tokenization platform within the Bitget ecosystem has collaborated with DeFi, an infrastructure provider, to extend dividend eligibility to rToken holders who have deployed their assets into supported decentralized finance protocols.
This integration is aimed at solving an ownership tracking issue: this situation may arise when tokenized stocks are deposited into lending markets, liquidity pools, or collateral contracts.
In these scenarios, smart contracts that hold tokens may be regarded as the owners on the chain, making it difficult to identify individual users who are entitled to receive dividends.
Reality's rTokens provides tokenized exposure to publicly listed stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which includes eligible economic rights such as cash dividends.
Both parties hope that even if users do not store the tokens in their personal wallets but instead use them for DeFi, these rights and interests can still be retained.
Track the holding situation of rToken in DeFi.
Merkl will utilize its reward and forwarder technologies to track token positions within the supported smart contracts and identify the underlying holders.
The system is capable of processing multi-layer DeFi contracts as well as protocol-specific fees, thereby distributing them according to the applicable eligibility and allocation rules.
Users and developers can use the Forwarder Scan tool of Merkl Studio to check whether a single contract is supported.
According to the arrangements of both parties, Reality is still responsible for issuing rTokens and managing the dividend rights, while Merkl provides the infrastructure necessary to identify eligible holders in the DeFi positions that are supported.
The Reality model separates cash dividends from the market price of the corresponding tokenized assets. Eligible net cash dividends are typically settled in USDT. However, distributions involving tokens that have been deployed to DeFi still depend on the contract's support and the applicable payment rules.
rTokens is not only used for trading
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen stated: "Tokenized stocks should not be used solely for trading. If someone uses their rTokens for DeFi, they should still be able to receive the dividends they are entitled to. Collaborating with Merkl helps us address this challenge and also makes tokenized stocks more practical in everyday use."
This collaboration is built upon the expansion of rTokens within the Bitget Universal Exchange ( UEX ) ecosystem. This ecosystem combines cryptocurrency trading with access to traditonal assets that have been tokenized.
According to reports cited by both parties from DeFiLlama, the trading volume of rToken reached a cumulative total of 1.16 billion US dollars during the period from June to July.
In July 2026, the number of users trading both cryptocurrencies and rTokens also increased by 23.54% month-on-month.
These data indicate that user activity involving digital assets and tokenized stocks through the same platform is on the rise.
The integration of Merkl aims to extend this activity into the field of decentralized finance, allowing eligible holders of rToken to retain their dividend rights when using supported DeFi applications.
However, the scope of application of this arrangement still depends on the smart contracts that connect to the Merkl forwarding system. It does not mean that all DeFi protocols will receive universal dividend support; rather, it provides a mechanism for tracking ownership and distributing profits within the supported ecosystem.
