Why tokenize?

Today, buying or selling a financial asset passes through many hands. A broker places the trade, a clearing house makes sure both sides pay up, a custodian keeps the asset safe, and a transfer agent keeps the official list of owners. Each one keeps its own records, and they spend time and money checking that those records match. In the US, most stock trades settle, meaning the money and the asset actually change hands, one business day after the trade. Most of these systems close at night and on weekends.

Tokenization puts the asset and its ownership record on one shared blockchain. Everyone works from the same record, so trades can settle in minutes, or even instantly, at any hour. Assets can be split into smaller pieces, so more people can own them. And because tokens are programmable, things like interest payments or moving collateral (an asset pledged to back a loan) can happen automatically.

Why does this matter? For banks and asset managers, it means lower costs, less cash and collateral sitting idle while trades settle, and new products to offer. For the public, it could mean cheaper, faster and wider access to investments. The pages in this section look at deposits, money market funds, Treasuries, funds and ETFs, loans and equities. For each one, ask three questions: how does it work today, what does tokenizing it make better, and who is already doing it?