Global Finance Faces Tokenization Reality, But Regulation Struggles to Keep Pace

Tokenizing real-world assets and moving them instantly across borders is no longer just a concept—it’s becoming a reality. At Chainlink’s SmartCon 2025 in New York, executives from Citi, DTCC, and Taurus emphasized that while tokenization technology is advancing rapidly, regulation remains the biggest obstacle to global adoption.

Ryan Rugg, Global Head of Digital Assets at Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions, revealed that Citi Token Services is already live across the U.S., U.K., Hong Kong, and Singapore. The platform facilitates billions in real transactions, powering supply chain payments and capital market settlements. According to Rugg, clients use the system daily—even outside traditional banking hours—proving the efficiency of tokenized finance. However, expanding the system globally has been challenging due to the lack of unified legal frameworks. Each jurisdiction requires separate regulatory approval, slowing progress toward a seamless, multi-bank, multi-asset network.

Nadine Chakar, Global Head of Digital Assets at DTCC, shared similar concerns. DTCC’s “Great Collateral Experiment” confirmed that tokenized assets like treasuries and equities could serve as collateral worldwide. Yet, she cautioned that technology alone isn’t enough—trust, legal clarity, and true interoperability are still missing. Chakar noted that while firms use the term “interoperability” freely, in practice, most systems don’t actually connect due to differing smart contract and governance models.

Taurus co-founder Lamine Brahimi highlighted Switzerland as a model, where both legal and technological frameworks for tokenized assets are already in place. Without such coordination, he warned, global financial firms face fragmentation, security risks, and costly compliance gaps.

As tokenization reshapes finance, experts agree that wallet-based infrastructure will gradually complement traditional systems. But until regulatory standards evolve to match 24/7 digital asset movement, the industry’s full potential will remain just out of reach.