DIGITAL MONEY AND TOKENIZED ASSETS

Real-World Asset

A traditional financial or physical asset—such as a government bond, real estate, private credit facility, or trade receivable—that has been tokenized and represented on a blockchain for on-chain trading, settlement, or collateral use.

EXAMPLE

BlackRock's BUIDL fund tokenizes U.S. Treasury exposure, allowing institutions to use the token as real-time on-chain collateral instead of wiring cash.

Relevant Roles and Functions

On-chain Role
Digital Asset Markets
Head of Tokenization
Function
Digital Securities Infrastructure
Tokenized Bond
Tokenized Funds
Tokenized Treasuries
TradFi Equivalent
Asset Servicing / Custody
Capital Markets
Securities Issuance
Structured Products

Related Terms

Tokenization

The process of representing ownership rights to a financial or physical asset as a digital token on a blockchain, enabling programmable transfer, fractionalization, and 24/7 settlement without traditional intermediaries.

Example

J.P. Morgan's Kinexys platform uses tokenization to enable intraday repo settlement of money market fund shares as on-chain collateral.

Tokenized Deposit

A bank-issued, blockchain-based representation of a commercial bank deposit that moves on distributed ledger infrastructure while remaining a liability of the issuing bank—distinct from a stablecoin, which is typically issued by a non-bank entity.

Example

Citi's tokenized deposit pilot allows corporate clients to move cash between subsidiaries in real time on a permissioned ledger, with the same credit standing as a traditional deposit.

Fractionalization

Dividing a high-value asset into smaller, tradeable units via tokenization, reducing minimum investment thresholds and enabling broader distribution of previously illiquid or wholesale-only asset classes.

Example

Fractionalization of a $50M private credit facility into $1,000 tokens allows wealth management platforms to offer exposure to institutional-grade credit within retail-friendly minimums.

Collateral Management

The operational process of identifying, valuing, pledging, and monitoring assets used as security for financial obligations such as derivatives, repo, or margin loans. On-chain collateral management enables real-time substitution and automated margin calls.

Example

Smart contract-driven collateral management at Goldman Sachs' digital asset platform triggers automatic margin top-ups when asset prices breach defined thresholds.