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
Dubai Financial Services Authority launches its most significant collective investment fund framework review since 2010
The Dubai Financial Services Authority has launched a major consultation on revising its collective investment fund regime, its most significant review since 2010. The proposals would make the framework more risk-based, simplify parts of the authorisation and fund structure rules, and remove the external fund manager regime. The paper also seeks early feedback on tokenised funds and a possible long-term investment fund regime for retail investors, with responses due by 7 September 2026.
International Monetary Fund assesses tokenization trends and policy trade-offs for financial infrastructure, money and stability
The International Monetary Fund has assessed how tokenization could reshape financial infrastructure, monetary liabilities and financial stability. It identifies a shift toward hybrid blockchain models and highlights trade-offs across interoperability, governance, settlement and concentration. Regulatory priorities include safeguards for tokenized deposits and stablecoins, the role of tokenized central bank reserves and oversight of systemic private infrastructures.
Indonesia Financial Services Authority advances 2026–2031 digital finance and crypto roadmap through stakeholder consultation
Indonesia's Financial Services Authority said it is strengthening the digital finance and crypto ecosystem through adaptive regulation, stronger governance and consumer protection, and is drafting the OJK IAKD Roadmap 2026–2031. The roadmap is being shaped through stakeholder consultation and is intended to address areas including tokenization, stablecoins, digital asset taxation, cybersecurity, over-the-counter transactions and a Single Investor Identifier. OJK also reported 22.4 million digital financial asset and crypto consumers and 26 licensed dealers in the sector.
Monetary Authority of Singapore outlines PCC consultation Future of Finance Institute and PayNow Generation 2 upgrades
In a speech, the Monetary Authority of Singapore outlined new initiatives spanning market infrastructure, AI adoption, retail funds and payments. It will soon consult on a Protected Cell Company framework and a faster authorization pathway for non-traditional retail funds, while establishing the Future of Finance Institute as a national financial-sector innovation centre. The authority also published a PayNow Generation 2 report that sets out payment upgrades including PayNow and NETS QR interoperability, online checkout improvements and new business payment capabilities.
Monetary Authority of Singapore to establish Future of Finance Institute focused on AI and tokenisation adoption
The Monetary Authority of Singapore will establish a Future of Finance Institute to speed industry adoption of AI and tokenisation. It will consolidate existing MAS-backed innovation efforts and provide shared resources through a knowledge hub, collaborative projects, sandboxes and implementation toolkits. More detail on its strategy and governance will be announced later this year.
Financial Conduct Authority outlines AI era regulatory approach focused on competition collaboration and system-wide resilience
In a speech, the Financial Conduct Authority said it is rethinking regulation for the age of AI, with more emphasis on competition, collaboration and system-wide risk as agentic AI and tokenisation reshape financial markets. The FCA is also testing AI in its own market monitoring, flagged growing resilience risks from third-party dependencies, and signalled further work on tokenised markets and AI practice.
Bank for International Settlements says stablecoin weaknesses must be addressed while tokenisation is brought into the two tier monetary system
The Bank for International Settlements says the future monetary system should preserve trust in money by integrating tokenisation into the existing two tier system and by addressing current stablecoin weaknesses. Its report says stablecoins in their current form fall short on key properties of money and could create risks for bank funding, financial stability, capital flows and monetary sovereignty if adopted more widely. The BIS also highlights a unified ledger model, including Project Agorá, as a way to support programmable and cross-border payments.
Qatar Central Bank enables HIMYAN cash withdrawals through Apple Pay at supporting ATMs
Qatar Central Bank has enabled cash withdrawals and balance inquiries using tokenized HIMYAN cards through Apple Pay. Customers can use the service without a physical card at supporting ATMs across Qatar, including machines operated by other domestic banks.
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.