Three well-known financial market infrastructures (FMIs) – DTCC, Clearstream, and Euroclear – along with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), have revealed a blueprint aimed at establishing an industry-wide digital asset ecosystem to foster the acceptance of tokenized assets.

Projected to reach a $16 trillion business opportunity by 2030, the tokenization of global illiquid assets has garnered significant attention. However, institutional adoption has faced challenges due to fragmented innovation and small-scale initiatives lacking broader ecosystem development.

Framework for Digital Asset Adoption

The jointly released paper, titled "Building the Digital Asset Ecosystem," endeavours to redirect industry focus by outlining six principles intended to facilitate successful adoption of tokenization and digital asset securities, excluding cryptocurrencies.

These principles encompass legal certainty, regulatory compliance, resilience and security, safeguarding customer assets, connectivity and interoperability, and operational scalability.

“While many firms recognize that blockchain holds enormous promise to deliver cost savings, capital efficiencies and reduced risk, the industry needs to pivot and demonstrate tangible results and value generation,” said Nadine Chakar, Managing Director, Global Head of DTCC Digital Assets.

Collaborative Standards and Risk Mitigation

The aim of these principles is to provide a roadmap for the industry to collaborate and establish comprehensive standards for the digital asset marketplace. Alongside these principles, the paper also introduces a range of risk management controls to aid firms in mitigating potential risks associated with digital assets, such as asset mismanagement and governance of smart contracts.

“New technologies bear immense potential to bring financial markets to the next level of efficiency, speed and safety,” said Jens Hachmeister, Managing Director, Head of Issuer Services & New Digital Markets at Clearstream.

BCG conducted an analysis as part of this initiative, which involved reviewing approximately 100 regulations and whitepapers across various jurisdictions, as well as conducting over 20 interviews with key market participants and technology vendors.

Philippe Laurensy, Managing Director and Head of Product, Strategy & Innovation, Euroclear, commented: “Our objective is to create innovative solutions that will address the evolving needs of our customers and drive industry advancements which includes clients having the flexibility to create space on their balance sheets through tokenisation, therefore leading to new business opportunities.”