Across 2024–2025, a surprisingly consistent expert view has emerged: tokenized money and assets are moving from pilots to production, but scaling depends on interoperability with today’s rails and clearer rules. Central banks and supervisors now publish roadmaps, global networks are testing cross-system bridges, and large financial institutions are shipping real products—while security incidents remind everyone why controls matter.
What central bankers and regulators emphasize
Tokenization belongs inside the core of the financial system
The Bank for International Settlements’ blueprint argues for platforms that bring central bank reserves, commercial bank money, and tokenized assets together on a “unified ledger,” improving existing processes and enabling new ones. The 2025 BIS update again places tokenized platforms at the center of the next-generation system.
Real-world sandboxes to issue and settle securities on DLT
The Bank of England and UK Financial Conduct Authority opened the Digital Securities Sandbox in September 2024, with policy and operational guidance so firms can issue, trade, and settle securities on new ledgers under supervision.
A single rulebook is forming in Europe
MiCA began applying on 30 December 2024, with ESMA detailing the transition and supervision timeline for crypto-asset service providers through 2025–2026. Experts flag this as a major step toward consistent permissions, disclosures, and marketing standards.
Bank transparency on crypto exposures is coming
The Basel Committee finalized standardized disclosure templates; banks must begin public reporting of crypto-asset exposures from 1 January 2026. Supervisors say common templates improve market discipline.
What market infrastructures and banks say
Interoperability beats single-chain bets
SWIFT’s experiments show its network can orchestrate tokenized value across multiple public and private blockchains. In 2024–2025, SWIFT said it would move toward trials and even a platform to connect CBDCs and tokenized assets with existing payments within 12–24 months—exactly the kind of “bridge” experts say is needed for scale.
Tokenized funds and deposit-like money are live
BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) launched in 2024 and surpassed $1 billion AUM by March 2025, a marquee proof point for on-chain cash-like products. In parallel, Singapore’s Project Guardian published 2025 guidance on tokenized bank liabilities and shared-ledger designs for transaction banking.
Banks are productizing tokenization stacks
J.P. Morgan’s Kinexys (Onyx) promotes tokenized collateral networks, intraday repo, and digital payments capabilities as bank-grade building blocks for clients—evidence that incumbents see tangible balance-sheet benefits, not just experiments.
What independent researchers and standard-setters add
A pragmatic path, not a rip-and-replace
OECD’s late-2024 review notes convergence between tokenized assets and CBDC work, and references the BIS “unified ledger” as a likely common interface central banks could pursue—with policy coordination needed on settlement finality, governance, and risk.
Interoperable deposit tokens for cross-border FX
Under MAS’s Project Guardian, an industry group in 2025 outlined how tokenized bank liabilities and shared ledgers could streamline cross-border payments and FX—codifying the operational and legal considerations that experts say determine adoption.
What the data says about residual risks
Experts remain clear-eyed: 2025 has already outpaced 2024 for crypto service hacks. Chainalysis’ mid-year update tallied more than $2.17 billion stolen by June, driven by the record $1.5 billion Bybit breach linked to North Korea—reinforcing why controls, incident playbooks, and sanctions screening must travel with tokenization.
The emerging expert consensus, distilled
Interoperability first
Design for co-existence with RTGS, card, and correspondent networks; use bridging layers (e.g., SWIFT) rather than migrating everyone to a single chain on day one.
Tokenize near-cash and core market assets
Start with money-market funds, deposits, treasuries, and high-grade collateral, where programmability unlocks intraday mobility and 24/7 settlement while legal foundations are clearest. Recent BUIDL traction is the signal to watch.
Operate inside supervised regimes
Use sandboxes (UK DSS) and align to rulebooks (MiCA) and forthcoming disclosures (Basel 2026). This reduces policy risk and speeds approvals with clients and auditors.
Treat security as a first-class requirement
Budget for key management, change control, and incident response equal to any core banking platform—because attackers are not waiting. The 2025 breach data is unambiguous.
Expert-informed checklist for teams exploring blockchain in finance
- Map your use case to the policy lane. If you touch EU consumers or counterparties, expect MiCA obligations and prepare documentation accordingly; if you’re issuing or settling securities in the UK, consider the DSS route.
- Prioritize interoperability. Validate how your platform will connect to SWIFT and existing payment rails for CBDC or tokenized-asset flows.
- Start with tokenized cash and collateral. Pilot MMF tokens, deposit-like liabilities, or tokenized collateral transfers where the value proposition is immediate.
- Prepare disclosures and controls. Build toward Basel 2026 reporting templates and align operational risk, custody, and incident procedures with bank standards.
FAQs
Is there agreement on which chain “wins”?
No. The expert view favors interoperation across multiple public and permissioned chains, bridged by existing networks like SWIFT, rather than a single winner.
What’s the clearest tokenization success so far?
Cash-like funds. BlackRock’s tokenized liquidity fund crossing $1B AUM in 12 months is a widely cited milestone.
Will regulators accept deposit-like tokens?
Guidance is evolving. MAS’s 2025 Project Guardian paper outlines design and risk expectations for tokenized bank liabilities in transaction banking—an example of supervised paths emerging.
