#imf称代币化市场仍小且碎片化 IMF Core View: Tokenized Markets Are Growing Fast, Yet Still “Small and Fragmented”October 8, 2026, the IMF, based on Chapter 3 of the Global Financial Stability Report (“Scaling Tokenization”), notes that while tokenized financial markets are expanding rapidly, they remain overall very small, highly fragmented, have weak liquidity, and exhibit higher volatility than traditional markets.
Key Data
Tokenized repo: average daily trading of about $300–350 billion; other tokenized assets (credit, money-market funds, stocks, etc.) about $65 billion. Comparison: U.S. traditional repo averages about $1.3 trillion per day; global capital market assets are about $300 trillion. Public tokenized RWA (excluding repo, stablecoins, etc.) as of July 2025 is about $65 billion. Issuance is concentrated in the United States and a small number of offshore jurisdictions, while trading is spread across multiple incompatible blockchains and platforms.
Fragmentation and Liquidity Problems
Assets are distributed across incompatible networks. Cross-chain activity requires bridging or intermediaries, increasing costs, delays, and counterparty risk—hindering network effects. Liquidity is fragmented: insufficient order-book depth limits institutional participation, creating a feedback loop of “fragmentation → thin liquidity → fewer institutions → even more fragmentation.” Tokenized stock volatility is about 1.5 times that of traditional markets, and DEX liquidity is the worst.
Positive Signals and Constraints
More than half of trading occurs outside traditional market hours; about 80% of stock trades are for fewer than 1 share, indicating 24/7 trading and demand for fractional shares (mainly driven by retail investors). However, four major constraints reinforce each other: legal certainty (ownership and finality of settlement), regulatory clarity, platform interoperability, and secure settlement assets.
Risks and Policy Recommendations
As scale expands, it could amplify forced selling, liquidity squeezes, and risk contagion. The IMF recommends technically neutral regulation, clearer legal rights, standardized rules for comparable activities, advancing interoperability with traditional systems, and monitoring interconnectedness, leverage, and liquidity.
Brief Assessment
The potential for tokenized efficiency (instant settlement, programmability, and around-the-clock trading) has begun to show, but infrastructure silos and institutional lag still keep it in an early stage. Without solving interoperability and legal frameworks, it will be difficult to achieve scalable network effects; if these are addressed, it could reshape capital market structure. Current systemic risk is limited, but planning should begin early.
Key Data
Tokenized repo: average daily trading of about $300–350 billion; other tokenized assets (credit, money-market funds, stocks, etc.) about $65 billion. Comparison: U.S. traditional repo averages about $1.3 trillion per day; global capital market assets are about $300 trillion. Public tokenized RWA (excluding repo, stablecoins, etc.) as of July 2025 is about $65 billion. Issuance is concentrated in the United States and a small number of offshore jurisdictions, while trading is spread across multiple incompatible blockchains and platforms.
Fragmentation and Liquidity Problems
Assets are distributed across incompatible networks. Cross-chain activity requires bridging or intermediaries, increasing costs, delays, and counterparty risk—hindering network effects. Liquidity is fragmented: insufficient order-book depth limits institutional participation, creating a feedback loop of “fragmentation → thin liquidity → fewer institutions → even more fragmentation.” Tokenized stock volatility is about 1.5 times that of traditional markets, and DEX liquidity is the worst.
Positive Signals and Constraints
More than half of trading occurs outside traditional market hours; about 80% of stock trades are for fewer than 1 share, indicating 24/7 trading and demand for fractional shares (mainly driven by retail investors). However, four major constraints reinforce each other: legal certainty (ownership and finality of settlement), regulatory clarity, platform interoperability, and secure settlement assets.
Risks and Policy Recommendations
As scale expands, it could amplify forced selling, liquidity squeezes, and risk contagion. The IMF recommends technically neutral regulation, clearer legal rights, standardized rules for comparable activities, advancing interoperability with traditional systems, and monitoring interconnectedness, leverage, and liquidity.
Brief Assessment
The potential for tokenized efficiency (instant settlement, programmability, and around-the-clock trading) has begun to show, but infrastructure silos and institutional lag still keep it in an early stage. Without solving interoperability and legal frameworks, it will be difficult to achieve scalable network effects; if these are addressed, it could reshape capital market structure. Current systemic risk is limited, but planning should begin early.