The International Monetary Fund said Thursday that tokenization could change how global finance works, moving markets closer to shared ledgers, faster settlement and programmable assets.
The blog was written by Tobias Adrian, financial counselor and director of the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department.
According to the IMF blog, tokenization is not only a technology upgrade for faster payments and programmable assets. Adrian wrote that “it is a lot more,” because assets, settlement and recordkeeping can move onto shared digital ledgers.
IMF says tokenization changes market structure
The IMF stated that tokenization can let execution, clearing and settlement happen at the same time. Today, many financial markets still rely on separate steps, delayed settlement and reconciliation after trades. Those steps add time and cost, but they also give banks, markets and regulators room to manage mistakes or stress.
In a tokenized setup, smart contracts can transfer ownership and payments together. That can reduce delays in securities, derivatives and payments. However, the IMF warned that removing delays also removes some buffers that traditional markets use during stress.
Meanwhile, liquidity demands could appear in real time, while collateral calls and redemptions could become automated. This may make normal market activity more efficient, but it could also make problems move faster when markets come under pressure.
The blog said risk could move away from the balance sheets of banks and investment funds toward platforms, code and market infrastructure providers. That shift means regulators may need to watch not only financial firms, but also the software and systems that process tokenized transactions.
Settlement assets become a key policy issue
The IMF said every financial system needs a core settlement asset. In traditional markets, central bank money plays that role for major institutions. Tokenization reopens that question because several types of digital money can operate on shared ledgers.
The blog pointed to tokenized bank deposits, stablecoins and tokenized central bank reserves as emerging forms of settlement money. Tokenized deposits keep the commercial bank deposit model, while stablecoins offer broader reach but depend on reserves and issuer strength. Tokenized central bank reserves can reduce credit risk, but they require central banks to operate or govern new programmable systems.
Adrian also said banks will not disappear. Instead, tokenization could change how banks fund themselves, handle liquidity and manage risk.
On the liability side, tokenized deposits can connect payments, treasury and client settlement. On the asset side, tokenized lending can place rules for interest, collateral and enforcement into smart contracts.
The IMF’s broader April research made a similar point. It said tokenization is a structural shift in financial architecture, not just a small efficiency gain. The paper also said tokenization can support atomic settlement, continuous liquidity management and embedded compliance inside regulated finance.
Faster markets could bring new risks
The IMF has cautioned against tokenized finance becoming a new weak point if the activity is concentrated onto a few gigantic platforms. While this could enhance liquidity and efficiency, it may also increase the importance of a more robust cybersecurity, operational resilience and crisis plan.
Interoperability was another concern. The IMF said weak links between platforms could trap liquidity and bring risk back into the system. If tokenized markets split across different standards, settlement assets and legal systems, the financial system could become harder to supervise.
The IMF also said smart contracts may need closer oversight. As more financial rules move into code, supervisors may need to review critical software in the same way they monitor important financial institutions. The blog said some smart contracts could become too important to fail.
Legal clarity will also be important. Market participants must appreciate if tokenized records are legal ownership, if settlement is final, and in which jurisdiction’s law they are governed. Yet the IMF said with unclear legal structures, tokenization could remain fragmented and limited.
The IMF pointed out that enabling faster and cheaper cross-border payments, improving market access, and increasing the efficiency of settlement may benefit emerging and developing economies. But it also cautioned that tokenized assets and money can flow across borders “almost immediately,” creating risks of “volatile capital flows and currency substitution.
Tokenization push grows across markets
The IMF blog comes as more financial firms test tokenized assets, stablecoins and blockchain-based market infrastructure. As The Coin Headlines reported resterday, Robinhood launched Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum-compatible Arbitrum network built to support tokenized equities, ETFs, private assets and other onchain financial products.
Elsewhere, Ethereum Institutional also launched with backing from BitMine, SharpLink and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, as reported yesterday. The group said Ethereum hosts about $180 billion of stablecoins on mainnet, equal to around 60 percent of total stablecoin supply, and supports about two-thirds of tokenized real-world assets.
On Wednesday, Binance Direct Stocks also crossed $1 billion in U.S. equities acquired by users within 30 days of launch. The product gives eligible users access to more than 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs inside the Binance app, with settlement handled through stablecoins.
Securitize has also been moving toward public markets. As previously reported, the RWA tokenization platform planned to raise $400 million before its July 2 NYSE debut through a Cantor Fitzgerald-backed SPAC. The company aimed to use funds to expand products, regulatory capabilities and tokenized financial asset infrastructure.
Stablecoins are also becoming part of the same debate. Earlier today, we reported that Standard Chartered launched institutional access to USDC minting and redemption through DIFC in partnership with Circle. The service gives eligible clients one regulated banking route for USDC access.
The IMF’s message places these developments inside a broader policy frame. Tokenization can speed settlement and bring financial activity onto shared ledgers. However, the IMF said the outcome will depend on policy choices around public and private money, legal rights, interoperability, code governance and liquidity support.
