IMF: Tokenization Market Still Small and Fragmented; Clear Regulatory Framework and Enhanced Interoperability Needed

PANews reported on October 8 that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated in a publication that tokenized repos have an average daily trading volume of about $300 billion to $350 billion, while other tokenized assets total about $65 billion. By comparison, the U.S. repo market averages about $13 trillion daily, and global capital market assets total $300 trillion. The IMF said the tokenization market is growing rapidly but remains extremely small and highly fragmented, and that achieving safe growth urgently requires legal certainty, a clear regulatory framework, and interoperability. It also warned that scaling up could amplify traditional financial risks such as sell-offs, liquidity runs, and contagion. Policymakers should adopt a technology-neutral approach, clarify the legal rights of tokenized assets, ensure consistent regulation for similar activities, support interoperability between tokenization platforms and traditional financial systems, and continuously monitor interconnectedness, leverage, and liquidity risks.