The International Monetary Fund says tokenization can reduce frictions and boost transparency in financial markets, but it may also introduce new risks that could affect stability. In a 23-page report released Thursday, the IMF concluded that the net effect of tokenization on financial stability is uncertain, noting that features like atomic settlement and greater transparency can mitigate some traditional risks, while faster execution and automation can create fresh vulnerabilities.
Onchain figures from RWA.xyz show more than $27.6 billion of real-world assets (excluding stablecoins) are tokenized today. Long-term market estimates diverge widely: Boston Consulting Group in 2022 forecasted tokenization could reach $16 trillion by 2030, while McKinsey put a more conservative figure of about $2 trillion by the same year.
According to the IMF, tokenization changes how securities and other financial products are issued, traded, settled and managed, shifting some risk away from banks and toward shared ledgers and smart contracts. The agency warned that stress events in tokenized markets are likely to evolve more rapidly than in traditional systems, leaving supervisors and market participants less time for discretionary intervention.
Tokenization could offer tangible benefits for emerging markets, including faster cross-border payments and wider financial inclusion. But the IMF cautioned it could also amplify risks such as volatile capital flows, quicker currency substitution and potential erosion of monetary sovereignty if not properly managed.
Corporate and financial-industry leaders have been prominent advocates of tokenization. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and other executives have promoted tokenizing stocks, bonds, money market funds and real estate. By total value locked, Securitize is the largest real-world-asset tokenization platform and powers the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, which had about $3.38 billion, according to CryptoDep data cited April 1. Tether Gold and Ondo Finance follow with roughly $3.35 billion and $3.21 billion, respectively.
Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, said in January it plans to build a tokenization platform designed to allow 24/7 trading and near-instant settlement of stocks and ETFs using a blockchain-based post-trade system.
The IMF highlighted legal uncertainty as a principal obstacle. Without clear rules on ownership recordings and settlement finality, tokenized markets risk fragmentation and may remain peripheral. The crypto industry is developing technical and governance responses: for example, the Ethereum ERC-3643 permissioned token standard aims to limit access to eligible investors and support compliance and identity checks.
A recent industry example: Coinbase Asset Management, in partnership with Apex Group, launched tokenized shares for the Coinbase Bitcoin Yield Fund on Ethereum layer-2 Base on March 20, using ERC-3643 to verify token holder identity and eligibility.
Overall, the IMF frames tokenization as a technology with meaningful potential benefits but with an uncertain net impact on financial stability unless legal, operational and supervisory challenges are addressed and standards are clarified.