Everything you need to know about tokenisation of public assets
The tokenization of public assets, such as French OATs, represents a shift in infrastructure rather than a fundamental change to the underlying financial securities. While proponents argue that blockchain integration could unify issuance, settlement, and custody to drive automation, current European systems are already highly efficient and cost-effective. The European Union has established a regulatory environment through the 2022 DLT Pilot Scheme, the MiCA Regulation, and the 2025 DORA Regulation to test these technologies in a controlled sandbox. However, the pilot scheme imposes strict transaction caps, such as a one-billion-euro limit, which remains marginal compared to the multi-trillion-euro scale of existing sovereign debt. Experts note that the lack of clarity regarding the regulatory regime following the pilot phase creates uncertainty that hinders institutional adoption. Furthermore, the absence of widely adopted, reliable euro-denominated stablecoins limits the potential for automated DeFi integration. Ultimately, the transition remains an experimental effort focused on technical feasibility and operational security rather than immediate economic gain.