OMFIF Survey Respondents Believe Substantial Level of Tokenization is Still Three Years Away

• OMFIF also found that 65% of its respondents believed that bonds were the most likely to be tokenized.
• Countries have been describing blockchain and tokenization as the future; experiments have been conducted by the U.K. and Bank for International Settlements.

According to a survey done by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) most respondents believe that a substantial level of tokenization will arrive in three plus years.

The survey consisted of a range of market participants and "92% believe that financial markets will experience a substantial degree of tokenization at some point, although all said that it is at least three years away". OMFIF surveyed 26 institutions including treasuries, banks and asset managers across Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.

Countries around the world have been describing blockchain and tokenization as the future. According to think tank OMFIF's survey, 42% of respondents agree blockchain will become the dominant form of financial market infrastructure. Tokenization is the digitization of real world assets.

Tuesday morning UK Finance announced that it had completed an experimental phase of a tokenization, central bank digital currency (CBDC) and ledger platform. Banks like Barclays, Citi UK, HSBC and Natwest alongside seven UK Finance members participated in the experiment.

On Monday, the Bank for International Settlements, considered to be the central bank of central banks, said that 40 handpicked firms had joined it to explore tokenization.

OMFIF also found that 65% of its respondents believed that bonds were the most likely to be tokenized. Bonds are already being tokenized on the blockchain. As of 31 July this year, 14 blockchain bonds have been issued totaling $1.2 billion, which is almost equivalent to 2023 when 16 bonds were issued with a value of $1.7 billion.

Wholesale CBDCs - digital tokens issued by central banks to be used by institutions solely - have also been widely tested.

"Our survey finds that market participants clearly prefer wholesale central bank digital currencies over other forms of tokenized cash, " the report said. "However, effective adoption will depend on robust regulation."

Read more: More than 40 Firms Join Central Bank Group to Explore Tokenization for Cross-Border Payments