tokenization

According to The Block, Lloyds Bank's tenth annual financial institution sentiment survey shows that 71% of senior executives at large financial institutions in the UK expect tokenization to reshape the financial services industry.The survey indicates that faster payment and settlement speeds are the most frequently mentioned advantages of tokenization by respondents, followed by collateral and liquidity management.

The Financial Services Commission of South Korea has proposed regulatory guidelines for the issuance and trading of security tokens, intending to allow stocks, bonds, funds, and certain fractional investment securities to be issued and circulated in token form. The relevant regulatory framework is scheduled to take effect on February 4, 2027.According to the proposal, securities token issuance companies that directly manage client accounts must have a paid-in capital of at least 4 billion Korean Won and be equipped with dedicated compliance and technical personnel. The revision of capital market regulations will also introduce an over-the-counter trading license for bonds and limit individual investors' annual net purchases at each over-the-counter exchange to within 100 million Korean Won.The proposal will be open for public consultation from Friday until November 11, after which it will enter the approval process. South Korea previously announced a roadmap to advance the transition of securities issuance and trading to distributed ledger infrastructure in three phases.

The SEC recently made public the comments submitted by Stove Finance regarding the exemption for tokenized stocks.The comments focus on the infrastructure issues after tokenized stocks enter the on-chain market, including asset conversion between traditional securities systems and on-chain ledgers, inventory replenishment, reconciliation, and how corporate actions such as dividends and stock splits maintain consistency across different systems.Stove suggested in the comments that registered broker-dealers be allowed to further participate in the construction of on-chain securities record, reconciliation, and delivery infrastructure, and that a unified standard for asset conversion, settlement status, and corporate actions be established collaboratively by broker-dealers, custodians, transfer agents, and on-chain trading venues.As tokenized stocks gradually enter DeFi scenarios such as AMM and liquidity pools, settlement, asset services, and cross-system interoperability beyond trading are becoming the next issues that the industry needs to address.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea has announced a draft amendment to the regulations related to the institutionalization of Token Securities, planning to expand the range of securities that can be tokenized to include traditional securities such as stocks, bonds, and funds.According to the draft amendment, traditional securities can also be tokenized, except for fragmented investment securities (non-monetary trust beneficiary securities, investment contract securities).The relevant electronic securities regulations will also clarify the requirements for distributed ledgers, stipulating that participants must include electronic registration institutions and at least two account management institutions, and prohibit the use of distributed ledgers for direct payment of electronic registration purposes.

The regulated operator responsible for the registration, securities custody, and settlement system of the Brazilian financial market, CSD BR, has begun to record the ownership of shares in certain investment funds under BTG Pactual, mirroring them to the public XRP Ledger. CSD BR manages registered assets exceeding 22 trillion Brazilian Reais, approximately 4 trillion US dollars. Its existing database still serves as the official record for registration, custody, and settlement, and the relevant assets have not been transferred to the XRP Ledger; fund shares will be presented in token form on the XRPL.This blockchain copy aims to allow approved banks and institutions to verify ownership changes in real-time, replacing post-reconciliation, reducing the slow and costly verification process, while retaining identity checks and regulatory controls. Anyone can read the token circulation on the XRPL, but CSD BR still controls who has the right to hold and transfer these tokens. The tokens adopt the multi-purpose token standard of the XRP Ledger, allowing issuers to restrict participants and freeze assets or revoke transactions upon regulatory or court requests, while participants still need to pass identity and anti-money laundering checks.The project starts with real fund records, distinguishing it from previous pilots that used test assets or closed networks. CSD BR was established in 2018 and is authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil and the securities regulatory authority. After becoming familiar with the mirroring system, CSD BR and Ripple plan to test the direct issuance of assets on the XRP Ledger and allow approved participants to trade, with potential targets including Brazilian real estate receivables and agricultural receivables.

Dan Tapiero, founder and CEO of 50T Funds, stated that the core assets in the digital asset space have entered a new bull market phase. He pointed out that the real revenue growth within the industry comes from stablecoins, tokenization, and companies like Kraken, Ledger, and Polymarket, which form the underlying fundamentals supporting the current market.Tapiero mentioned that Hyperliquid has been leading this bull market. Regarding investment choices, he revealed that he had previously opted not to invest in FTX, Celsius, and BlockFi due to valuation issues; he is currently raising $500 million for the 50T Fund and has invested $42 million in MoonPay. On a macro level, he is focused on themes such as Japan's 30-year government bonds and believes that in currency devaluation trades, Bitcoin and gold will hold an advantage in the long term.

Korean KakaoPay's securities and tokenization platform Dinari and Ondo Finance have reached separate collaborations to explore the on-chain integration of Korean listed stocks and distribution to overseas market investors. KakaoPay announced these two independent agreements on Tuesday, covering the acquisition of target Korean stocks, tokenization infrastructure, and potential distribution arrangements outside of Korea.The collaboration with Dinari will rely on its dShares model for a proof of concept, which aims to retain shareholder rights, including dividends and voting. Dinari currently offers 724 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs through dShares, and this collaboration explores extending that model to stocks of Korean listed companies. Dinari CEO Gabe Otte stated that the proof of concept has not yet selected specific Korean listed companies and has not set a commercialization timeline; the proposed model will use locally listed stocks in Korea as the underlying assets, rather than tokens that only track their prices.The initial focus of the agreement with Ondo is to establish a framework for the acquisition and custody of Korean listed stocks, preparing for subsequent tokenization. KakaoPay will operate a comprehensive account for foreign investors to hold and manage the underlying stocks, and both parties will also study the issuance and redemption mechanisms for tokens. This collaboration comes as Korea advances its token securities regulatory framework: the Korean National Assembly passed an amendment in January this year, recognizing distributed ledgers as legitimate securities registries; the Financial Services Commission included it in capital market reforms in June; and the framework is set to take effect in February 2027.

According to Bloomberg, Morgan Stanley has established a digital asset lab to test technologies such as stablecoins, tokenization, and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. The Wall Street bank is exploring how blockchain-based systems can be applied to its various businesses.Megan Brewer, head of market innovation and labs at Morgan Stanley, stated in an interview that the initiative is part of the company's existing innovation lab network. This network provides employees with dedicated facilities to explore emerging technologies while avoiding risks to the bank's core systems.

HashKey, a digital asset financial services group, is evaluating more acquisition targets, strategic investment opportunities, and potential collaborations in Asia and the Middle East.Eric Zhu, Chief Financial Officer of HashKey, stated in an interview with Mergermarket that capital deployment over the next 12 to 24 months will focus on transactions and liquidity, custody, clearing and settlement, payments, and tokenization, with priority markets including Singapore and Southeast Asia, Japan, and the Middle East. HashKey is evolving from a single trading platform into a comprehensive provider of digital asset and financial services infrastructure.

Goldman Sachs has connected its approximately $100 billion government bond fund FTIXX to the digital asset settlement network Lynq, providing a new subscription channel for institutional-level crypto companies. The fund will be listed on Lynq, with trading handled by tZERO Securities, a broker-dealer registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This is the first external fund introduced to the Lynq network, which previously only had a single investment product.Unlike most blockchain-based fund products on Wall Street, FTIXX has not been tokenized. BlackRock's BUIDL is a tokenized fund, and Franklin Templeton offers tokenized shares of money market funds through BENJI, while Goldman Sachs retains the traditional fund format of FTIXX, with Lynq opening new access channels for digital asset companies. Lynq CEO Jerald David stated that there is a convergence occurring between traditional market participants and digital asset market participants.For institutions using Lynq, FTIXX provides a place to store cash and earn returns during trading gaps, redeemable when needed. David mentioned that clients have been looking for government bond assets on the platform that offer yields different from existing tools. Lynq's partners include B2C2, Wintermute, Galaxy, FalconX, Crypto.com, and Fireblocks. The network operates on a private permissioned Avalanche Layer 1 blockchain and has connected over 30 institutional digital asset companies, with assets exceeding $89 million.

According to CoinDesk, Franklin Templeton has expanded its "Over-the-Counter Collateral Program" to Bybit, allowing users of the exchange to use their tokenized money market fund shares for cryptocurrency trading. Users can use the shares as collateral to borrow stablecoins USDT or USDC, while the underlying assets continue to generate returns. The relevant shares represent approximately $686 million in net assets.The underlying assets will not be transferred to Bybit but will be held off-chain by the regulated custody platform ByCustody, with their value mirrored in the Bybit trading environment, thereby generating returns while releasing trading liquidity. The shares are issued through the Benji technology platform, which is Franklin Templeton's proprietary blockchain-integrated record-keeping and transfer agency infrastructure, currently paying an annualized return of 3.7% based on the latest 7-day interest rate.This is not Franklin Templeton's first foray into over-the-counter collateral partnerships, as it has previously offered tokenized money market funds to Binance and OKX clients. Sandy Kaul, Head of Digital Assets and Innovation at Franklin Templeton, stated that investors can now use collateral more efficiently across major exchanges and earn returns from it, which is crucial for ecosystem growth. This expansion also reflects industry trends, with platforms like Crypto.com and Deribit allowing qualified users to use BlackRock's BUIDL fund as trading collateral.

Tom Lee, Chairman of Bitmine, stated that artificial intelligence and the cryptocurrency industry are gradually merging, with tokenization and AI agents likely becoming the two main driving forces of the next cryptocurrency market cycle.Tom Lee mentioned that BlackRock expects more assets to be tokenized, and financial settlement infrastructure is increasingly being built on cryptocurrency networks. Some fintech companies, such as Revolut, have already begun to build related businesses based on Ethereum. He also stated that AI is driving the formation of the digital economy, while cryptocurrencies provide the digital currency and blockchain infrastructure needed to support this economic system.

According to CoinDesk, French Hill, the chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, stated that tokenization has shifted from being viewed as a "futuristic" concept during the discussions of FIT21 and the CLARITY Act to a reality that is happening in real-time.He said, "We may really be tokenizing an asset like a real security— in fact, we are doing that right now."

According to three informed sources, the real-world asset tokenization platform Ondo Finance was recommended to potential buyers after founder and CEO Nathan Allman passed away this year. Two sources stated that the relevant contacts occurred after Allman died on May 25. However, it remains unclear who is driving the sale of Ondo Finance.In early August, Allman's estate management filed a lawsuit against Ondo's acting CEO Ian De Bode, accusing him of illegally seizing control and funds of the company, leading to a fierce battle for corporate control. Allman, who died at the age of 32 without a will, left uncertainty regarding the ownership of his controlling shares and a large number of ONDO tokens. After the probate process, his estate was awarded to his parents, Kathleen Allman (77) and Lawrence Allman (82). According to the current court order, De Bode continues to serve as CEO and is responsible for daily operations, but he is not allowed to make significant changes to the company until the control dispute is resolved. One informed source stated that the escalating control litigation is likely to put any sale plans on hold.An Ondo spokesperson denied that the company was seeking buyers, stating that the claims regarding a potential sale are completely false, and that no one in the company has pushed for a sale, participated in sale negotiations, or requested others to do so on their behalf. Ondo was founded in 2021 by former Goldman Sachs executives, is headquartered in New York, and offers tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds and stocks, with product scale exceeding $3.8 billion.

Grayscale's research director Zach Pandl pointed out that the recent "Innovation Exemption" directive issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to fundamentally change the previous landscape where tokenized U.S. stocks primarily relied on offshore "packaged derivatives" trading, promoting the inclusion of real tokenized stocks with complete shareholder voting rights and dividend rights into the regulated financial system of the United States.This exemption order is valid for 5 years and specifically relaxes two core registration requirements: qualified tokenized trading venues do not need to register as traditional stock exchanges; qualified liquidity providers do not need to register as broker-dealers.Grayscale believes that this marks a significant step as on-chain trading infrastructure is proving to be fully compatible with regulatory compliance and investor protection, and it is expected to drive Congress to advance a broader bipartisan legislative process in the future.

Ondo Finance has launched a new category of on-chain products, Ondo Intelligent Portfolios, which presents curated investment portfolios through a single transferable on-chain token. The first three portfolio tokens are constructed based on BlackRock's customized portfolio strategies for Ondo, allowing qualified investors in eligible jurisdictions outside the United States to gain relevant economic exposure through a single token.Traditionally, diversified, professionally constructed investment strategies typically required access through brokerage accounts and traditional fund structures. Now, these portfolios can be accessed through peer-to-peer transferable tokens issued by Ondo, available in users' existing wallets, exchanges, and DeFi applications, and support automatic rebalancing via smart contracts, programmable integration with the broader on-chain economy, and the combination of multiple asset classes within a single token.The three strategies are BLKHIon (High Yield), BLKDIGon (Diversified Growth), and BLKGRWon (High Growth). Holding the tokens provides economic exposure to the underlying asset baskets; each product is issued by Ondo Global Markets and tokenized by Ondo Finance. Investors only need to mint or redeem a single token to hold tokenized assets with weighted allocations, with positions, weights, and rebalancing visible on-chain in real-time.Lisa O'Connor, Head of Global Model Portfolio Solutions at BlackRock Multi-Asset Strategies, and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Global Solutions, stated that tokenization provides a new digital delivery pathway for portfolio strategies; Ian De Bode, Acting CEO and President of Ondo Finance, mentioned that such portfolios have never appeared on-chain before. Ondo plans to continue expanding this product line in the future.