More than digital money: how tokenisation is changing financial markets - Opinions - Media & Politics - Schweizerische Bankiervereinigung

The Point Zero Forum in Zurich recently highlighted a strategic shift in the financial sector, moving beyond simple digital payments toward the comprehensive tokenization of traditional assets. Industry leaders and regulators identified tokenized bonds as a primary entry point for scaling DLT-based financial systems, aiming to modernize infrastructure that currently relies on technology from the 1970s to 1990s. By leveraging distributed ledger technology, financial institutions seek to automate issuance, trading, and settlement processes, potentially enabling 24/7 market operations. Experts like Agustín Carstens of the BIS emphasize that these digital counterparts will coexist with traditional systems rather than replace them entirely. However, the transition requires overcoming significant hurdles, including establishing legal certainty for ownership, ensuring settlement finality, and achieving cross-platform interoperability. Swiss officials, including Karin Keller-Sutter, are advocating for market-led innovation within clear regulatory frameworks to maintain Switzerland's competitive edge. This evolution represents a structural transformation that promises to reduce costs and eliminate single points of failure in global capital markets.