From concept to core infrastructure
Feb 2025
Experts from Broadridge examine how tokenisation is moving from pilot programmes to production-grade infrastructure, and what institutions must get right to make it work at scale
Image: siarhei/stock.adobe.com
Tokenisation has moved beyond experimentation and into operational reality. Once viewed as a niche application of blockchain technology, tokenisation is now reshaping how financial assets are issued, serviced, and distributed across global capital markets.
As regulatory frameworks mature and institutional confidence grows, tokenisation is emerging as a foundational shift in market infrastructure with the potential to redefine efficiency, access, and transparency across both public and private assets.
Tokenisation refers to the digital representation of traditional financial or real-world assets (RWA) on blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT). These digital tokens represent ownership rights and can be transferred, settled, and programmed via smart contracts. What makes tokenisation transformative is not simply digitisation but programmability.
The ability to automate lifecycle events, such as settlement, corporate actions, compliance checks, and reporting in near-real-time, has the potential to fundamentally change how markets function.
Tokenisation has reached an inflection point. Institutions are no longer debating whether tokenisation will matter but how and when to deploy it at scale.
Adoption is not one size fits all
According to our 2025 tokenisation survey and whitepaper, ‘Next-gen markets: The rise and reality of tokenisation’, adoption rates vary significantly depending on where a firm sits in the financial ecosystem.
Custodians are leading with 63 per cent of custodian survey respondents already offering tokenised asset services and an additional 30 per cent preparing to do so within two years. Their motivations are practical: enhanced security, improved transparency, and operational efficiency.
By embedding tokenisation into settlement, custody, and fund servicing workflows, custodians are reinforcing their role as trusted infrastructure providers in an increasingly digital market environment.
Asset managers are close behind in their adoption at 15 per cent, driven primarily by investor demand and product innovation.
While only a subset have launched tokenised offerings to date, many more plan to follow. For these firms, tokenisation represents a way to modernise product delivery, expand access, and reduce friction in fund distribution, particularly for private market strategies.
Wealth managers remain more measured. Fewer currently offer tokenised products (10 per cent), though a growing number expect to enter the market. Their caution reflects both operational complexity and strategic concerns around disintermediation, as tokenisation enables more direct-to-investor distribution models. Despite these differences, the trajectory is clear — tokenisation is moving steadily to production-grade systems across the industry.
From pilots to practice across public and private markets
One of the strongest indicators of tokenisation’s maturity is its traction in traditional public market instruments.
What began as proof of concept initiatives has evolved into live, regulated products backed by some of the world’s largest asset managers. Tokenised money market funds (MMFs) and Treasuries have emerged as early success stories. These products combine the stability of familiar asset classes with the operational advantages of blockchain-based settlement, real-time ownership tracking, and enhanced liquidity.
Tokenisation is no longer confined to private or experimental environments. Firms are deploying tokenised funds on public blockchains, demonstrating that DLT can operate within existing regulatory frameworks. This shift is helping establish operational and compliance playbooks that others can follow.
While public markets illustrate tokenisation’s feasibility, private assets highlight its transformative potential.
Private equity, private credit, real estate, and other alternative assets have long been defined by high minimum investments, limited liquidity, and complex administration.
Tokenisation directly addresses this friction by enabling fractional ownership, broader distribution, and automated servicing.
Demand for tokenised private assets is expected to grow. Individual investors are showing strong interest in tokenised real estate and private equity, while institutional investors are focused on private equity, private credit, and real estate.
Indeed, survey respondents highlighted democratised investment access (58 per cent) and improved liquidity (61 per cent) as critical benefits driving interest in private assets.
Regulation as the critical enabler
Regulatory certainty remains the most significant enabler to scale tokenisation.
Survey respondents said that clear guidance on securities classification (65 per cent), consistent investor protection measures (63 per cent), and standardised transaction protocols for issuing, transferring, and recording digital assets (53 per cent) are essential for adoption across jurisdictions.
Progress is underway. Regulatory engagement is increasing, and policymakers are beginning to provide the legal scaffolding needed to support institutional participation with initiatives like:
- The US’s GENIUS Act
- The US’s CLARITY Act (Digital Asset Market Clarity Act)
- The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA)
- The UK’s Digital Securities Sandbox
- Dubai’s Virtual Assets and Related Activities (VARA) framework
- Singapore’s Project Guardian
As regulatory clarity continues across jurisdictions, institutional hesitancy is likely to ease, accelerating adoption across asset managers and wealth channels.
Implementation is the key to security
Tokenisation’s impact on cybersecurity depends on how it is implemented. Poorly implemented systems can introduce new vulnerabilities, from insecure key management to flawed smart contracts: 54 per cent of surveyed firms cited technology and cybersecurity concerns as significant risks. However, when designed correctly, tokenisation solutions can strengthen security by reducing attack surfaces, improving auditability, and minimizing the exposure of sensitive data. Indeed, over 60 per cent of early adopters cited improved cybersecurity and regulatory compliance as a key benefit of tokenisation.
Infrastructure readiness is equally important. Many firms operate hybrid environments where tokenized and traditional assets coexist but are not fully integrated. Without interoperability, efficiency gains can be eroded by duplicative workflows and manual reconciliation. By prioritising solutions that bridge existing workflows with tokenised environments, firms will more seamlessly integrate this new technology.
Early movers see greater value
A key insight emerging from institutional experience is that the perceived value of tokenisation increases with adoption. According to the tokenisation survey, firms with live tokenisation programmes consistently report a broader and deeper set of benefits than those still evaluating the space.
Early adopters cite improvements in transparency and data tracking (66 per cent), liquidity and investor accessibility (61 per cent), and lower operational costs (57 per cent).
Other reported benefits include greater efficiency in servicing traditional asset classes, and the ability to launch new products and distribution models more quickly.
The next generation of market structure
Tokenisation is evolving from a product-level innovation into core market infrastructure. Transfer agency, fund servicing, and settlement functions are being reshaped through automation.
Distribution models are shifting toward more direct and digital-first engagement. These changes are already visible in tokenised Treasury products, on chain fund administration, and early private market platforms.
The firms building capabilities today are positioning themselves to define standards, capture new revenue streams, and lead in a more interoperable market ecosystem.
For example, Broadridge’s Distributed Ledger Repo (DLR) solution has emerged as the largest institutional platform for settling tokenized real assets, processing $326 billion in average daily repo trades in January 2026.
A strategic imperative
Tokenisation does not require wholesale replacement of existing infrastructure overnight. It does require intentional modernisation.
Financial institutions must prepare systems for interoperability, establish digital asset governance frameworks, rethink distribution strategies, and prioritise investor education.
Building trust through transparency, compliance, and clear communication will determine how quickly tokenised markets scale.
The convergence of institutional interest, regulatory engagement, and technological readiness suggests that tokenisation’s moment has arrived.
For firms willing to move deliberately and strategically, tokenisation offers more than efficiency gains.
It offers the opportunity to reshape how markets operate, making them more inclusive, transparent, and resilient for the digital era.
As regulatory frameworks mature and institutional confidence grows, tokenisation is emerging as a foundational shift in market infrastructure with the potential to redefine efficiency, access, and transparency across both public and private assets.
Tokenisation refers to the digital representation of traditional financial or real-world assets (RWA) on blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT). These digital tokens represent ownership rights and can be transferred, settled, and programmed via smart contracts. What makes tokenisation transformative is not simply digitisation but programmability.
The ability to automate lifecycle events, such as settlement, corporate actions, compliance checks, and reporting in near-real-time, has the potential to fundamentally change how markets function.
Tokenisation has reached an inflection point. Institutions are no longer debating whether tokenisation will matter but how and when to deploy it at scale.
Adoption is not one size fits all
According to our 2025 tokenisation survey and whitepaper, ‘Next-gen markets: The rise and reality of tokenisation’, adoption rates vary significantly depending on where a firm sits in the financial ecosystem.
Custodians are leading with 63 per cent of custodian survey respondents already offering tokenised asset services and an additional 30 per cent preparing to do so within two years. Their motivations are practical: enhanced security, improved transparency, and operational efficiency.
By embedding tokenisation into settlement, custody, and fund servicing workflows, custodians are reinforcing their role as trusted infrastructure providers in an increasingly digital market environment.
Asset managers are close behind in their adoption at 15 per cent, driven primarily by investor demand and product innovation.
While only a subset have launched tokenised offerings to date, many more plan to follow. For these firms, tokenisation represents a way to modernise product delivery, expand access, and reduce friction in fund distribution, particularly for private market strategies.
Wealth managers remain more measured. Fewer currently offer tokenised products (10 per cent), though a growing number expect to enter the market. Their caution reflects both operational complexity and strategic concerns around disintermediation, as tokenisation enables more direct-to-investor distribution models. Despite these differences, the trajectory is clear — tokenisation is moving steadily to production-grade systems across the industry.
From pilots to practice across public and private markets
One of the strongest indicators of tokenisation’s maturity is its traction in traditional public market instruments.
What began as proof of concept initiatives has evolved into live, regulated products backed by some of the world’s largest asset managers. Tokenised money market funds (MMFs) and Treasuries have emerged as early success stories. These products combine the stability of familiar asset classes with the operational advantages of blockchain-based settlement, real-time ownership tracking, and enhanced liquidity.
Tokenisation is no longer confined to private or experimental environments. Firms are deploying tokenised funds on public blockchains, demonstrating that DLT can operate within existing regulatory frameworks. This shift is helping establish operational and compliance playbooks that others can follow.
While public markets illustrate tokenisation’s feasibility, private assets highlight its transformative potential.
Private equity, private credit, real estate, and other alternative assets have long been defined by high minimum investments, limited liquidity, and complex administration.
Tokenisation directly addresses this friction by enabling fractional ownership, broader distribution, and automated servicing.
Demand for tokenised private assets is expected to grow. Individual investors are showing strong interest in tokenised real estate and private equity, while institutional investors are focused on private equity, private credit, and real estate.
Indeed, survey respondents highlighted democratised investment access (58 per cent) and improved liquidity (61 per cent) as critical benefits driving interest in private assets.
Regulation as the critical enabler
Regulatory certainty remains the most significant enabler to scale tokenisation.
Survey respondents said that clear guidance on securities classification (65 per cent), consistent investor protection measures (63 per cent), and standardised transaction protocols for issuing, transferring, and recording digital assets (53 per cent) are essential for adoption across jurisdictions.
Progress is underway. Regulatory engagement is increasing, and policymakers are beginning to provide the legal scaffolding needed to support institutional participation with initiatives like:
- The US’s GENIUS Act
- The US’s CLARITY Act (Digital Asset Market Clarity Act)
- The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA)
- The UK’s Digital Securities Sandbox
- Dubai’s Virtual Assets and Related Activities (VARA) framework
- Singapore’s Project Guardian
As regulatory clarity continues across jurisdictions, institutional hesitancy is likely to ease, accelerating adoption across asset managers and wealth channels.
Implementation is the key to security
Tokenisation’s impact on cybersecurity depends on how it is implemented. Poorly implemented systems can introduce new vulnerabilities, from insecure key management to flawed smart contracts: 54 per cent of surveyed firms cited technology and cybersecurity concerns as significant risks. However, when designed correctly, tokenisation solutions can strengthen security by reducing attack surfaces, improving auditability, and minimizing the exposure of sensitive data. Indeed, over 60 per cent of early adopters cited improved cybersecurity and regulatory compliance as a key benefit of tokenisation.
Infrastructure readiness is equally important. Many firms operate hybrid environments where tokenized and traditional assets coexist but are not fully integrated. Without interoperability, efficiency gains can be eroded by duplicative workflows and manual reconciliation. By prioritising solutions that bridge existing workflows with tokenised environments, firms will more seamlessly integrate this new technology.
Early movers see greater value
A key insight emerging from institutional experience is that the perceived value of tokenisation increases with adoption. According to the tokenisation survey, firms with live tokenisation programmes consistently report a broader and deeper set of benefits than those still evaluating the space.
Early adopters cite improvements in transparency and data tracking (66 per cent), liquidity and investor accessibility (61 per cent), and lower operational costs (57 per cent).
Other reported benefits include greater efficiency in servicing traditional asset classes, and the ability to launch new products and distribution models more quickly.
The next generation of market structure
Tokenisation is evolving from a product-level innovation into core market infrastructure. Transfer agency, fund servicing, and settlement functions are being reshaped through automation.
Distribution models are shifting toward more direct and digital-first engagement. These changes are already visible in tokenised Treasury products, on chain fund administration, and early private market platforms.
The firms building capabilities today are positioning themselves to define standards, capture new revenue streams, and lead in a more interoperable market ecosystem.
For example, Broadridge’s Distributed Ledger Repo (DLR) solution has emerged as the largest institutional platform for settling tokenized real assets, processing $326 billion in average daily repo trades in January 2026.
A strategic imperative
Tokenisation does not require wholesale replacement of existing infrastructure overnight. It does require intentional modernisation.
Financial institutions must prepare systems for interoperability, establish digital asset governance frameworks, rethink distribution strategies, and prioritise investor education.
Building trust through transparency, compliance, and clear communication will determine how quickly tokenised markets scale.
The convergence of institutional interest, regulatory engagement, and technological readiness suggests that tokenisation’s moment has arrived.
For firms willing to move deliberately and strategically, tokenisation offers more than efficiency gains.
It offers the opportunity to reshape how markets operate, making them more inclusive, transparent, and resilient for the digital era.
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