The International Monetary Fund said in a blog post published on Oct. 8 that tokenized finance is expanding quickly, but its overall footprint is still tiny relative to traditional markets. Citing Chapter 3 of the October 2026 Global Financial Stability Report, the IMF said tokenized repo trading averages roughly $300 billion to $350 billion a day, while other tokenized assets total about $65 billion. By comparison, the U.S. repo market handles around $13 trillion in daily volume, and global capital markets amount to about $300 trillion in assets.
The report said investors have shown interest in some features of tokenization. More than half of trading takes place outside traditional market hours, and about 80% of tokenized equity trades are smaller than one share. At the same time, the IMF said tokenized markets have lower liquidity and higher volatility than traditional markets, while fragmentation across platforms weakens network effects.
The IMF identified four mutually reinforcing constraints: legal certainty, regulatory clarity, interoperability, and safe settlement assets. It also warned that as the sector scales up, traditional financial risks such as fire sales, liquidity runs, and contagion could become more pronounced. Policymakers, the fund said, should adopt a technology-neutral approach and keep monitoring interconnectedness, leverage, and liquidity risks.
According to ChainCatcher, the International Monetary Fund published a blog on Oct. 8, drawing on Chapter 3 of its October 2026 Global Financial Stability Report, saying tokenized markets are growing quickly but remain very small and highly fragmented.
The report said tokenized repo trading averages about $300 billion to $350 billion a day, while other tokenized assets amount to about $65 billion. For comparison, the U.S. repo market posts roughly $13 trillion in daily volume, and global capital markets account for about $300 trillion in assets.
Trading patterns and market structure
The IMF said investors have shown interest in several features of tokenization. More than half of trading takes place outside traditional market hours, and around 80% of tokenized stock trades are smaller than one share.
Still, the report said tokenized markets have lower liquidity and higher volatility than traditional markets. Fragmentation across platforms also weakens network effects.
Four constraints highlighted by the IMF
The IMF said four mutually reinforcing factors are holding the market back:
- legal certainty
- regulatory clarity
- interoperability
- safe settlement assets
Policy steps and risk warning
The report warned that a larger market could amplify traditional financial risks, including fire sales, liquidity runs, and contagion.
According to the IMF, policymakers should take a technology-neutral approach, clarify the legal rights attached to tokenized assets, ensure that similar activities are subject to consistent regulation, support interoperability between tokenization platforms and the traditional financial system, and continue monitoring interconnectedness, leverage, and liquidity risks.
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