The IMF says tokenized real-world assets reached approximately $65.1 billion by July 31. Its October 2026 Global Financial Stability Report warns that instant settlement and automated liquidations could amplify shocks. The fund lists four obstacles to wider adoption.
The International Monetary Fund warns that the same features that remove friction from tokenized markets could speed up financial stress. The warning comes from Chapter 3 of its October 2026 Global Financial Stability Report, titled "Scaling Tokenization: New Efficiencies, New Vulnerabilities."
Tokenized assets reach $65.1 billion
By July 31, tokenized real-world assets reached approximately $65.1 billion, excluding repurchase agreements and stablecoins. Tokenized credit made up $30.4 billion of that, and money market funds added $17.5 billion.
Tokenized equities were far smaller at $2.3 billion. Tokenized repos, meanwhile, averaged $303 billion in daily transaction volume.
Faster settlement removes the buffers
The IMF found that more than half of tokenized equity trading happened outside regular U.S. market hours. Roughly 80% of transactions involved less than one share.
But traditional systems contain delays that give institutions time to reconcile transactions and secure liquidity. The IMF warns that programmable collateral, automated margin calls and continuous trading could accelerate forced liquidations when markets encounter trouble.
Collateral reused across interconnected platforms could also support greater leverage. According to the IMF paper, composability "propagates contagion and leverage across interconnected applications".
Four obstacles to adoption
The paper identifies four obstacles: legal certainty, regulatory clarity, interoperability between blockchain networks and reliable settlement assets. Central bank money offers a potentially safer settlement foundation, while private stablecoins and tokenized deposits introduce additional credit, liquidity and concentration risks.
It recommends technology-neutral regulation, stronger oversight, circuit breakers and safeguards against destabilizing automated liquidations. For now, the IMF considers systemic risks limited because tokenized markets remain relatively small.
Source: Bitcoin News
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