Key Takeaways:
Moody’s reports that U.S. banks see a “slow then fast” shift to tokenized assets and digital money as inevitable.DTCC plans to launch limited production trades of tokenized securities in July 2026 to modernize U.S. markets.Tokenized MMFs reached $10 billion in 2026, signaling a growing institutional demand for onchain liquidity.These use cases require onchain settlement to enable instant, programmable transactions. In this environment, U.S. banks generally view tokenized deposits as a natural evolution of the existing deposit model.
The transition to a fully digital, 24/7 financial market is expected to run on a hybrid model for a decade or more. This allows traditional and tokenized systems to operate in parallel while systems are updated. Incumbents like the Depository Trust Company (DTC) are already moving toward integration. In late 2025, the SEC provided no-action relief to pilot tokenizing certain DTC-held assets, including large-cap equities.
Financial incumbents are investing heavily now to avoid being caught flat-footed when the market shifts.
