Banks Bet on Tokenized Assets, But Only 15% Are Production-Ready

Financial institutions are rapidly adopting tokenized deposits and securities to enhance settlement efficiency and liquidity management, yet a significant infrastructure gap persists. According to a September 2026 Fireblocks analysis, only 15% of current custody infrastructure is production-ready, despite 88% of institutions planning digital asset budget allocations by year-end. The Cari Network has successfully onboarded six U.S. regional banks, with a pipeline representing over $10 trillion in assets. Meanwhile, the DTCC achieved a milestone on July 15, 2026, by executing 22 live tokenized securities trades involving major players like J.P. Morgan and Citadel Securities. Payment systems are also evolving through the OUSD initiative, backed by Visa and Mastercard, to streamline cross-border treasury operations. These developments highlight a shift toward real-time settlement and dynamic collateral allocation, though interoperability and control layer maturity remain critical bottlenecks. As early adopters establish operational standards, the industry faces a race to bridge the gap between strategic commitment and live execution to maintain competitive relevance.