VICTORIA, Seychelles, Nov. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reality, the tokenization platform bringing publicly listed equities onchain and part of the Bitget ecosystem, has partnered with Merkl to identify eligible rToken holders whose tokens are deployed across supported DeFi protocols. This will enable them to keep receiving dividends in stablecoin, even when their tokens are put to work in DeFi instead of sitting in a wallet.
rTokens provide tokenized exposure to publicly listed stocks and ETFs, including eligible economic benefits such as dividends. When these tokens are deposited into lending markets, liquidity pools or staking contracts, the smart contract may appear as the holder onchain instead of the individual user. This makes it more difficult to identify who should receive the associated dividend distributions.
Merkl’s reward forwarder technology addresses this by tracing token positions through supported smart contracts to identify the underlying holders and allocate distributions according to the applicable rules. The system can account for multiple layers of DeFi contracts and protocol-specific fees. Users and developers can check if individual contracts are supported through the Merkl Studio Forwarder Scan tool.
"The challenge with assets held in DeFi is knowing who sits behind each position," said Pablo Veyrat, CEO and Co-founder of Merkl. "Our forwarder technology traces ownership through nested smart contracts and tells Reality exactly who holds what, so dividends can reach the right people wherever their tokens are deployed."
"Tokenized equities should be useful beyond trading," said Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget. "If someone puts their rTokens to work in DeFi, they should still be able to receive the dividends they’re eligible for. Working with Merkl helps us address that challenge and makes tokenized equities more practical for everyday use."
Under the partnership, Reality continues to manage rToken issuance and dividend entitlements, while Merkl provides the reward forwarding infrastructure for identifying eligible holders across supported DeFi positions. Reality’s rToken model distributes eligible cash dividends separately from the token’s price, with net cash dividends generally settled in USDT. Distribution through DeFi remains subject to the supported contracts and applicable distribution rules.
The partnership builds on the growing adoption of rTokens within Bitget’s UEX ecosystem. According to a DeFiLlama report, rToken trading volume reached $1.16 billion in cumulative volume between June and July, while the number of users trading both crypto and rTokens grew 23.54% month over month in July 2026, pointing to rising demand for tokenized equities as part of broader, cross-asset strategies. The integration with Merkl supports the next stage of development, helping extend the use of tokenized equities beyond exchange-based trading into DeFi.
About Reality
Reality is a regulated real-world asset issuance platform built for global markets, and is proudly part of the Bitget ecosystem. Working with licensed brokers across major exchanges, including Nasdaq and the NYSE, we purchase and hold the underlying assets in custody, then issue the corresponding rights on-chain. This connects traditional capital markets with on-chain infrastructure, opening institutional-grade access to real-world assets for users worldwide.
About Merkl
Merkl is the leading onchain money streaming platform. Stablecoin issuers, fintechs, neobanks and tokenized funds use Merkl to calculate and send yield, dividends and payouts. Merkl tracks ownership across lending markets, liquidity pools and other nested smart contracts, so every payment reaches the beneficial owner behind each position. Since launching in July 2023, Merkl has distributed over $1.8B in tokens across 60+ chains for more than 1,000 companies, including PayPal, Coinbase, Robinhood and Morpho.
