Asset Tokenization in Financial Markets 2025

Contents2 Contents Foreword 3 Executive summary 4 Introduction 5 1. Foundational key concepts 6 1.1 Tokenization 7 1.2 Programmable ledgers 8 1.3 Tokenization models 8 1.4 Token attributes 11 1.5 Settlement assets 12 2. Value proposition 13 3. Tokenized assets 18 3.1 Use case patterns 19 3.2 Asset issuance 22 3.3 Securities financing 33 3.4 Asset management 34 4. Barriers to adoption 37 4.1 Traditional financial infrastructure 38 4.2 Global standards 38 4.3 Cross-chain interoperability 39 4.4 Secondary markets 39 4.5 Privacy and compliance 405. Impacts of tokenization 41 5.1 Evolving market structures 42 5.2 Changes to incumbents 42 5.3 New market roles 46 5.4 New products 46 6. Design choices 47 6.1 Infrastructure 48 6.2 Settlement assets 50 6.3 Operating hours 50 7. Considerations 51 7.1 Cybersecurity 52 7.2 Financial stability 53 7.3 Regulatory developments 53 Conclusion 55 Contributors 56 Endnotes 58Contents Disclaimer This document is published by the World Economic Forum as a contribution to a project, insight area or interaction. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are a result of a collaborative process facilitated and endorsed by the World Economic Forum but whose results do not necessarily represent the views of the World Economic Forum, nor the entirety of its Members, Partners or other stakeholders. © 2025 World Economic Forum. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system. Look out for this icon for pages that can be interacted withTHIS REPORT IS INTERACTIVE To ensure interactive capability, please download and open this PDF with Adobe Acrobat.