Are You Token-Ready? Why Digital Asset Tokenization Is Moving Faster Than You Think

Are You Token-Ready?

Digital asset tokenization has moved from concept to reality — and the pace is accelerating. What began with pilot projects in private markets is now being adopted by global banks, exchanges, asset managers, and regulators. Tokenized U.S. Treasuries, money market funds, private credit, and bonds are already live. Public market leaders like Nasdaq and regulators like the SEC and CFTC are openly discussing on-chain capital markets.

The question is no longer if tokenization will reshape finance — it’s whether your organization is prepared to participate.

Tokenization Has Reached an Inflection Point

In 2025 alone, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) have grown dramatically, with on-chain asset values exceeding tens of billions of dollars and expanding across asset classes: Franklin Templeton continues to operate tokenized mutual funds on public blockchains. Societe Generale led a major step forward for institutional adoption of tokenized finance through their pioneering digital bond issuance. Nomura launched a tokenized venture capital fund, affirming that Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization is moving into the institutional mainstream.

Major banks have issued tokenized bonds and are using tokenized collateral for settlement and margin. Nasdaq has filed proposals to support tokenized equities under existing market rules. Regulators are actively enabling tokenized Treasuries, funds, and collateral with clear guardrails.

This momentum reflects a deeper truth: traditional financial infrastructure — fragmented, manual, and expensive — is no longer fit for modern markets. Capital markets still rely on decades-old systems that cost the industry over $750 billion annually just to maintain. Tokenization offers a path to modernize issuance, settlement, compliance, and ownership — but only for organizations that are ready.

Tokenization Is Not a Product — It’s an Operating Model Shift

Many firms underestimate tokenization by treating it as a new asset wrapper or distribution channel. In reality, tokenization transforms the entire asset lifecycle:

• Issuance becomes programmable

• Settlement becomes near-instant

• Compliance becomes embedded

• Ownership becomes transparent and auditable

• Assets become interoperable across systems and markets

This shift requires preparation. Firms without a tokenization strategy risk being locked out of new liquidity pools, higher-efficiency markets, and future-proof infrastructure. Are You Token-Ready? Three Critical Steps Becoming token-ready doesn’t require flipping a switch — but it does require intentional action.

Here are three foundational steps every institution should take now.

1. Assess Your Current Systems and Infrastructure Tokenization exposes the limitations of legacy systems.

• Before issuing or supporting tokenized assets, organizations must understand how well their existing infrastructure can support:

• Real-time settlement and reconciliation

• Data availability and transparency

Integration across internal and external systems Automation of corporate actions, reporting, and compliance

Key question: Can your systems support on-chain workflows, or will they become bottlenecks?

Many firms discover that siloed databases, manual processes, and point-to-point integrations are incompatible with programmable, real-time assets.

2. Ensure Your Assets Are Token-Ready Not all assets are immediately suitable for tokenization.

Organizations must evaluate:

• Clear ownership and entitlement structures

• Transferability and regulatory constraints

• Corporate action logic (interest, dividends, maturity, voting)

• Data quality and standardization

Token-ready assets are those where rights, rules, and lifecycle events can be clearly defined and encoded. Without this clarity, tokenization increases risk rather than reducing it.

3. Address Risk, Compliance, and Governance Upfront

Tokenization does not remove regulatory responsibility — it increases the need for precision.

Firms must proactively address:

• KYC/AML and investor eligibility Transfer restrictions and jurisdictional rules

• Auditability and regulatory reporting

• Operational and cybersecurity risk

• Governance and upgrade controls

The most successful tokenization strategies embed compliance and governance directly into the asset, rather than bolting it on through off-chain processes.

The Cost of Waiting Is Rising Tokenization is rapidly becoming a competitive advantage — and soon, a competitive requirement. As liquidity migrates to on-chain markets and institutions adopt programmable assets, firms without a strategy will face:

• Higher operating costs

• Slower settlement and capital inefficiency

• Reduced access to new distribution channels Increased dependency on intermediaries

The future of finance is being built now — on-chain, compliant, and interoperable. The real question is no longer what is tokenization?

It’s are you token-ready?