Tokenized financial markets may make trading and settlement faster, but the International Monetary Fund says they could also introduce new threats to financial stability as adoption expands. In an analysis published Thursday, the IMF found that tokenized equities are less liquid and roughly 1.5 times as volatile as comparable traditional stocks, even as investors show growing interest in markets that operate around the clock.
According to Cointelegraph, the IMF said tokenization remains small relative to conventional financial markets and faces several barriers, including legal uncertainty, weak interoperability between platforms and the absence of widely accepted assets for settling transactions. Tokenization refers to representing traditional assets such as stocks, bonds or funds digitally on a blockchain or other distributed-ledger system.
Tokenized markets remain small despite rapid growth
Trading in tokenized repurchase agreements, or repos, accounts for much of the activity currently taking place in tokenized markets. These transactions average between $300 billion and $350 billion a day, compared with approximately $13 trillion in daily activity across the broader US repo market.
Outside repos and stablecoins, the value of tokenized real-world assets is concentrated mainly in credit products and money market funds. The IMF estimated that tokenized real-world assets had an outstanding value of about $65 billion as of July. That represents only a small share of the roughly $300 trillion in global capital-market assets.
Tokenized credit made up $30.4 billion of the total, while tokenized money market funds accounted for $17.5 billion. Tokenized equities were much smaller, with an estimated value of approximately $2.3 billion.
The figures illustrate the difference between the technology’s potential and its current market footprint. Tokenization could eventually support faster settlement, more automated transactions and broader access to fractional ownership. However, the IMF said fragmented systems and limited compatibility between tokenized and traditional markets continue to constrain expansion.
Investors seek continuous trading, but volatility is higher
Tokenized shares are attracting demand partly because they can be traded outside the normal hours of traditional US stock exchanges. The IMF found that more than half of trading in tokenized equities took place outside regular US market hours. About 80% of transactions involved less than one share, reflecting the ability of tokenized markets to support fractional ownership.
The analysis also found that price changes in tokenized equities during overnight hours appeared in traditional stock prices soon after the conventional markets opened. This suggests that tokenized markets may provide price information while traditional exchanges are closed.
That additional access comes with market-quality concerns. The IMF found tokenized equities to be significantly less liquid than their traditional counterparts. Their realized volatility was approximately 1.5 times higher, meaning prices fluctuated more sharply over the period examined.
The institution warned that these vulnerabilities could become more important if tokenized markets grow and become more closely connected to the wider financial system. Greater leverage and interconnectedness could increase the risk of forced asset sales, sudden withdrawals of liquidity and the spread of stress between markets. For now, the IMF said systemic risks remain limited because adoption is still relatively small.
IMF and European regulators call for safeguards
The IMF has raised similar concerns in previous analyses. In November 2025, it warned that automated trading and links between smart contracts could intensify volatility and contribute to flash crashes. In April, the institution said faster settlement could speed up the transmission of financial stress. A July analysis focused on risks arising from fragmented platforms and inadequate coordination among regulators.
European regulators have also highlighted the connection between tokenized assets and traditional finance. Last month, the European Securities and Markets Authority warned that expanding links between crypto markets and conventional financial markets, including through tokenized equities, could make it easier for shocks to spread.
The IMF called for clearer legal and regulatory rules, stronger interoperability between tokenized and traditional systems, and safeguards aimed at emerging vulnerabilities. Its conclusion was that technology alone will not determine whether tokenization transforms finance; market depth, confidence and effective protections will also be important.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar data at the stated times show mixed performance among the listed digital assets:
- Espresso (ESP): $0.1098858314, down 3.65% over 24 hours and up 4.03% over seven days, as of October 8, 2026, at 21:38 +03:30.
- Ampleforth (AMPL): $1.2230130299, up 9.52% over 24 hours and down 12.94% over seven days, as of October 8, 2026, at 08:14 +03:30.
- Amp (AMP): $0.0006375343, up 10.77% over 24 hours and up 2.47% over seven days, as of October 8, 2026, at 21:39 +03:30.
- Tutorial (TUT): $0.0373206004, down 6.82% over 24 hours and down 41.91% over seven days, as of August 30, 2026, at 07:39 +03:30.
