Reality, a real-world asset (RWA) issuance platform within the Bitget ecosystem, has partnered with onchain rewards infrastructure provider Merkl to ensure that eligible holders of tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds continue receiving dividend payments when deploying their assets across decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
Under the partnership, Merkl will identify eligible rToken holders whose assets are deposited in supported lending markets, liquidity pools, and staking contracts. The integration is designed to ensure that users do not lose their dividend entitlements when they move tokenized assets from personal wallets into DeFi applications to generate additional returns.
The collaboration introduces a mechanism for tracking underlying ownership across supported DeFi smart contracts and forwarding eligible dividend distributions to the appropriate rToken holders in stablecoins.
The development addresses an operational challenge associated with tokenized securities, particularly when ownership records become less straightforward after assets are deposited into decentralized applications.
Merkl Technology Tracks Ownership Across Smart Contracts
Reality’s rTokens provide tokenized exposure to publicly listed stocks and exchange-traded funds, including eligible economic benefits such as dividends. However, when users deposit these tokens into lending protocols, liquidity pools, or staking contracts, the receiving smart contract may become the recorded on-chain holder instead of the individual investor.
This creates difficulties in identifying the actual beneficiaries of dividend distributions. Although the underlying investors retain their economic entitlements, blockchain records may show the smart contract as the immediate holder of the assets.
Merkl aims to resolve this attribution problem through its reward forwarder technology. The system tracks token positions across supported smart contracts, identifies the underlying beneficiaries, and allocates distributions according to the applicable eligibility and payment rules.
The technology can also accommodate multiple layers of interconnected DeFi contracts and account for protocol-specific fees when calculating the appropriate distributions.
Developers and users can determine whether a particular smart contract is compatible with the system through Merkl Studio’s Forwarder Scan tool.
Merkl Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Pablo Veyrat explained that identifying the actual owners behind assets deployed across DeFi protocols remains a significant challenge. He indicated that the forwarding infrastructure follows ownership through nested smart contracts, enabling Reality to identify the appropriate recipients of dividend payments.
Bitget Chief Executive Officer Gracy Chen emphasized that tokenized equities should provide economic benefits beyond price exposure and trading opportunities. She noted that investors deploying rTokens across DeFi applications should retain access to dividends for which they qualify.
Separate Responsibilities for Issuance and Dividend Distribution
The partnership divides operational responsibilities between the two companies. Reality will continue managing rToken issuance and determining dividend entitlements, while Merkl will provide the infrastructure required to identify eligible investors and forward payments across supported DeFi positions.
Under Reality’s rToken structure, eligible cash dividends are distributed separately from the token’s market price. Net dividend payments are generally settled in USDT, although distributions involving DeFi positions remain subject to supported smart contracts and applicable payment conditions.
Reality works with licensed brokerage partners to access underlying securities listed on major exchanges, including Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange. The platform purchases the corresponding assets, maintains custody, and issues blockchain-based tokens representing the associated rights.
Merkl, meanwhile, operates an onchain money-streaming platform that supports stablecoin issuers, fintech companies, neobanks, and tokenized investment funds. Its infrastructure is designed to calculate and distribute yield, dividends, and other financial payments through blockchain networks.
By combining Reality‘s token issuance and asset management capabilities with Merkl’s automated distribution technology, the partnership seeks to make tokenized securities more compatible with decentralized financial applications.
Growing rToken Adoption Within Bitget’s UEX Ecosystem
The integration comes as rTokens gain traction within Bitget’s Unified Exchange (UEX) ecosystem, which combines cryptocurrency trading with access to other financial assets.
According to figures attributed to DeFiLlama, cumulative trading volume for rTokens reached $1.16 billion between June and July 2026. The number of users trading both cryptocurrencies and rTokens increased 23.54% month over month in July 2026.
The companies view the growth as evidence of increasing interest in tokenized equities among investors pursuing strategies that span multiple asset classes.
The Merkl integration could further support this adoption by allowing investors to use tokenized securities within DeFi applications without automatically sacrificing their associated dividend benefits.
The partnership highlights an emerging effort to connect traditional securities-related economic rights with decentralized financial infrastructure, potentially expanding the utility of tokenized equities beyond conventional trading and portfolio exposure.
