What's new
Overview
This dossiers provides on overview of the direction of tokenization efforts including insights from major public-sector led project initiatives and jurisdictional pilots and sandboxes as well as the emerging regulatory framework for tokenization and key associated policy questions.
What's new
SWIFT appoints Michael Manos as chief information officer to lead platform security and post quantum transition
SWIFT has named Michael Manos as chief information officer, replacing retiring CTO Cheri McGuire. He will lead network, security and cloud strategy, including SWIFT’s post-quantum cryptography roadmap and its approach to frontier artificial intelligence. The role also covers maintaining resilient services as SWIFT expands its digital technology and tokenisation agenda.
United Kingdom HM Treasury sets Chris Woolard’s remit to lead wholesale market tokenisation and deliver a July 2027 DLT report
United Kingdom HM Treasury has published the remit for Chris Woolard as Wholesale Digital Markets Champion, tasking him with leading industry work on tokenisation and wider digitalisation in UK wholesale markets. He will establish a cross-industry taskforce, provide an initial forward look by July 2026 and submit a report to the Chancellor on distributed ledger technology adoption and interoperability by July 2027.
European Central Bank sets out Eurosystem strategy for tokenised finance digital euro and cross-border payments
In a conference speech, ECB President Christine Lagarde outlined the Eurosystem’s strategy for tokenised finance, the digital euro and cross-border payments. It includes using central bank money for tokenised wholesale settlement through Pontes and Appia, and linking TIPS with foreign instant payment systems including India’s Unified Payments Interface. Lagarde also called for shared market standards and a common legal framework for digital assets.
Argentina Securities Commission expands tokenization regime to all automatic authorization offerings and extends sandbox to end-2027
The Argentina Securities Commission has finalized an expansion of its tokenization regime after consultation. Digital representation is now allowed for securities issued under any Automatic Authorization Regime, including low-impact and new medium-impact offerings, and the sandbox has been extended until Dec. 31, 2027. The rule also broadens eligible fund units to all closed-end mutual funds with automatic public offering authorization and to ETF open-end mutual fund units and CEVA ETPs, while excluding other open-end mutual funds.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority holds first corporate treasury tokenisation seminar in recent years and plans follow up with treasury centres
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority held a seminar on corporate treasury and tokenisation to showcase use cases, promote participation in Project Ensemble and encourage use of support measures for tokenised bond issuance. Attended by over 150 participants from corporates, financial institutions and treasury associations, it featured panels on real-time treasury management and tokenisation in bond issuance and trade finance. The Authority will follow up with interested corporate treasury centres to explore collaboration and engage them on broader topics to promote Hong Kong’s financial platform and gather market feedback.
Central Bank of Ireland sets funds sector resilience and innovation priorities and launches money market fund liquidity consultation
The Central Bank of Ireland’s Deputy Governor McMunn outlined priorities for the funds sector, highlighting geopolitical risk, technology-driven change, resilience and regulatory adaptation, and announced a joint consultation with French and Luxembourg authorities on national guidance for money market fund weekly liquid asset levels aligned with European Commission resilience metrics. He set expectations for firms’ use of artificial intelligence and tokenisation, emphasising explainability, clear accountability and human oversight, and reiterated the Bank’s focus on leverage, liquidity mismatch, stress testing, operational resilience and governance. McMunn also noted ongoing investment in supervisory data and analytics, efforts to simplify regulation and supervision, and plans to publish the supervisory review of delegation practices in Irish fund management companies next month.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority convenes Tokenised Bond Expert Group to drive tokenised bond adoption and scalability in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has established a Tokenised Bond Expert Group to support wider use of tokenised bonds, drawing on industry, legal and technology stakeholders. Initial discussions in May focused on applying Hong Kong’s legal and regulatory regime to tokenised bond issuance and transactions, with feedback informing the HKMA’s work with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau on potential framework enhancements. The HKMA will continue topic-specific discussions and announce details of the legal and regulatory review separately.
Argentina Securities Commission outlines capital markets modernization agenda and highlights recently approved local ETF regime
The Argentina Securities Commission chair outlined the authority’s deregulation and modernization agenda, emphasizing recent approval of a local exchange-traded fund framework via FCIA ETF and CEVA ETP to expand investment options. He recapped initiatives including removal of foreign exchange restrictions, a safe harbor for private offerings, automatic offerings, the Fiscal Innocence Regime, rules for Labor Assistance Funds, and regulation of PSAVs and tokenization, and noted that the “Big Bang” regulatory package remains under public consultation.
European Central Bank invites expressions of interest for Appia contact group to advise on Pontes and Appia tokenisation work
The European Central Bank is inviting financial market stakeholders and public sector bodies to join the Appia contact group to support the Eurosystem’s Pontes and Appia projects on tokenisation and distributed ledger technology. The group will advise on business and technical aspects of a tokenised wholesale financial market, including Pontes’ operation and evolution and the Appia blueprint, and will comprise private and public stakeholders and national central banks.
Bank of Canada joins BIS Project Agorá to test tokenized wholesale cross-border payments
The Bank of Canada has joined the BIS’s Project Agorá, which is testing whether tokenization can improve wholesale cross-border payments via a multi-currency unified ledger enabling atomic settlement using tokenized commercial bank deposits and wholesale central bank money. The next phase will further test the prototype and assess how such a platform could operate within existing legal and regulatory frameworks, including settlement finality and AML/CFT laws, alongside seven other central banks and over 40 private sector financial institutions.
Bank for International Settlements says Project Agorá prototype can enable atomic wholesale cross-border settlement and will move to real-value testing
The Bank for International Settlements and the Institute of International Finance published a Project Agorá report finding that tokenisation and programmable technology can reduce inefficiencies in wholesale cross-border payments while preserving settlement in central bank reserves. The prototype demonstrated atomic settlement of tokenised central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits across currencies and jurisdictions, with a layered architecture supporting central bank control, privacy, regulatory compliance and enhanced financial crime controls. The project will move to testing with real-value transactions, a larger private sector role and the addition of the Bank of Canada.
Central Bank of Ireland outlines tokenised finance approach as Eurosystem prepares wholesale settlement of tokenised transactions in central bank money later this year
The Central Bank of Ireland Deputy Governor outlined a positive stance on tokenised finance, stressing system-wide coordination, interoperable infrastructure and central bank money as the anchor, while noting macrofinancial issues such as stablecoin growth, capital markets intermediaries and potential DLT fragmentation. He set out a three-part response: enabling DLT-based settlement in central bank money and advancing the Digital Euro; expanding eligibility of DLT-issued assets as Eurosystem collateral; and authorising and supervising MiCA entities while using the innovation sandbox and consultation to assess regulatory changes. The Bank will also support work on a longer-term European tokenised financial ecosystem.
Qatar Financial Centre signs Ahli Bank MoU on fintech pilots and digital asset use cases
The Qatar Financial Centre has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C. to collaborate on fintech innovation, digital transformation, and development of Qatar’s financial services sector, leveraging the QFC Digital Assets Lab to develop digital financial solutions and explore digital assets and tokenisation use cases. The parties will work with technology providers, startups, and other partners to advance emerging financial technologies, support pilot programmes with QFC technology firms, and run joint events and knowledge-sharing initiatives to support fintech firms within the QFC.
World Federation of Exchanges urges regulators to consult issuers before allowing tokenised equities on crypto platforms
The World Federation of Exchanges has urged equity market regulators to consult listed issuers before allowing tokenised equities on crypto platforms and to deny third-party tokenised stocks exemptions from standard securities rules. It argues that such tokens, typically options or share mimics issued without issuer involvement, should meet the same disclosure, trading and post-trade standards as traditional securities and warns they create reputational risk, obscure token holder identification and may weaken price discovery, liquidity and the public equity market framework.
Malta Financial Services Authority launches consultation on tokenisation of financial instruments and real world assets
The Malta Financial Services Authority has launched a consultation on the tokenisation of financial instruments and real-world assets to assess how distributed ledger technology could support tokenised markets in Malta. It is seeking views on market readiness, suitable asset classes, legal and infrastructure requirements, and whether existing European Union and national frameworks are sufficient or need targeted updates. Responses are due by 30 June 2026.
United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England launch wholesale tokenisation call for input with DSS exit plans and RTGS synchronisation by 2028
The Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England, including the Prudential Regulation Authority, have issued a joint call for input on supporting the safe adoption of tokenisation in UK wholesale financial markets, setting out a shared regulatory vision and initial roadmap for tokenised securities across issuance, trading, settlement and safekeeping. They signal coexistence with non-tokenised infrastructures and broadly aligned regulatory treatment where legal rights and risks are equivalent. The authorities outline near-term steps for the Digital Securities Sandbox, including a defined route to permanent authorisation, potential changes to the Central Securities Depositories Regulation framework, expanded use of certain stablecoins for settlement, and a Bank of England synchronisation service by 2028 to enable settlement of digital asset ledgers in sterling central bank money via real-time gross settlement. They also clarify that Prudential Regulation Authority regulated firms will generally apply the same prudential treatment to tokenised traditional assets as to non-tokenised equivalents.
Prudential Regulation Authority updates interim cryptoasset prudential expectations and says tokenised traditional assets generally follow existing treatment
The Prudential Regulation Authority has updated its interim expectations for the prudential treatment of tokenised assets, stablecoins and other cryptoasset exposures, replacing its 2022 guidance while retaining the requirement to apply the full prudential framework and a 100% market risk capital charge for unbacked cryptoassets. It confirms that tokenised traditional assets should generally receive the same prudential treatment as equivalent non-tokenised assets where legal rights and risks are comparable, using Basel Committee standards as a reference where rules allow discretion. A full prudential framework will be consulted on only after the Basel Committee completes its targeted review, not before 2028.
Reserve Bank of Australia and DFCRC release Project Acacia findings and outline program for wholesale tokenised markets
The Reserve Bank of Australia and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre published a Project Acacia report on how digital money and settlement innovations could support wholesale tokenised asset markets, finding potential efficiency and resilience gains but also scaling challenges requiring further regulatory and industry work. The project, conducted with industry and supported by ASIC, APRA and the Australian Treasury, tested 20 use cases across multiple asset classes using various forms of digital settlement, including a pilot wholesale central bank digital currency, tokenised commercial bank deposits and stablecoins. The report outlines a multi‑stream work program, including enhanced industry‑regulator cooperation and a potential regulatory sandbox for digital market infrastructure.
Qatar Financial Centre signs Commercial Bank partnership to expand banking access for licensed firms and support tokenisation testing
The Qatar Financial Centre has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Commercial Bank to facilitate access to customised banking products and immediate banking services for firms and employees licensed on its platform. The agreement also establishes a framework for collaboration in fintech and digital assets, including joint ecosystem initiatives and testing of tokenisation opportunities through the Qatar Financial Centre Digital Assets Lab.
Argentina Securities Commission holds market meetings on Big Bang package replacing prior approvals with automatic authorization
The Argentina Securities Commission reported that its board held two meetings with over 100 market participants, industry associations and major law firms to discuss the public consultation on its “Big Bang” regulatory package. The core proposal would shift the capital markets framework from prior approvals to automatic authorization, with limited exceptions, and includes measures to facilitate issuance of corporate bonds, shares, financial trusts and mutual funds, promote tokenization, broaden medium- and low-impact regimes, and expand the regulatory sandbox.
United States Federal Reserve Board Governor Cook outlines tokenization opportunities and warns of liquidity and interconnectedness risks
The Federal Reserve Board published a speech by Governor Lisa D. Cook noting that tokenization of financial assets could enhance collateral mobility, liquidity management, settlement efficiency and cross-border market access, but may pose new financial stability risks as it scales. She said U.S. tokenized assets have more than doubled over the past year to around USD 25 billion, led by government bond funds, and stressed that tokenization should complement traditional market infrastructure.
European Central Bank sets out September launch of Pontes tokenised central bank money settlement for DLT-based transactions
European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone outlined the Eurosystem’s approach to tokenisation, confirming that tokenised central bank money settlement for distributed ledger technology-based transactions will be offered from September via the Pontes project. He noted that since March the Eurosystem has accepted marketable assets issued in central securities depositories using distributed ledger technology as eligible collateral and is considering extending eligibility to other distributed ledger technology-issued assets, and highlighted the Appia roadmap on architecture and standards to avoid market fragmentation and reliance on private settlement assets such as stablecoins.
Argentina Securities Commission launches consultation to broaden tokenization under automatic public offer regimes and extend sandbox to 31 December 2027
The Argentina Securities Commission has launched a public consultation on draft amendments to broaden the digital representation regime for publicly offered negotiable securities and extend the regulatory sandbox to 31 December 2027. The proposal would expand tokenization to securities issued under any automatic authorization regime, including low- and medium-impact regimes, and to all closed-end mutual funds eligible for automatic public offering authorization, subject in some cases to voluntary prospectus preparation and specific authorization.
Financial Conduct Authority sets out fund tokenisation guidance and optional Direct to Fund dealing model
The Financial Conduct Authority has published guidance on fund tokenisation, clarifying how asset managers can use distributed ledger technology within existing rules and introducing measures to improve fund dealing efficiency, including an optional Direct to Fund model for traditional and tokenised funds. Developed with industry input, the policy statement defines tokenisation and outlines potential future developments as part of the authority’s digital assets roadmap for asset management, and the authority will engage with industry on distributed ledger technology in UK wholesale markets.
Malaysia Securities Commission and Khazanah price Malaysia’s first tokenised sukuk at MYR100 million
The Malaysia Securities Commission, with Khazanah Nasional Berhad, has priced Malaysia’s first tokenised sukuk of MYR100 million under its market innovation pilot, using distributed ledger technology within existing regulatory frameworks and aligned with the Capital Market Masterplan 2026-2030. The one-year tranche under Khazanah’s Sukuk Danum Programme of up to MYR20.0 billion is structured on the Shariah principle of Wakalah bi al-Istithmar and involved CIMB Group, Maybank and institutional investors. The pilot aims to provide a template for future tokenised sukuk and guide further modernisation of Malaysia’s capital markets.