Overview
- The IMF’s Global Financial Stability Report released in mid‑October found more than half of tokenized U.S. equity trading happens outside regular market hours and about 80% of trades are for less than one share, showing strong retail demand for fractional, round‑the‑clock access.
- The study measured tokenized versions of stocks such as Tesla and Nvidia and found tokenized shares were roughly 1.5 times as volatile and substantially less liquid than their counterparts on traditional exchanges.
- The tokenized equities market remains tiny and concentrated at about $2.3 billion, with Ondo Finance and Backed Finance’s xStocks accounting for more than 70% of that measured market.
- The IMF documented that overnight price moves on tokenized platforms were quickly incorporated into traditional markets—more than 85% of those moves showed up within five minutes of U.S. market open—yet it warned that automation, instant settlement and cross‑platform collateral flows could speed up and widen shocks.
- The report calls for precautionary steps from regulators, including 24/7 circuit breakers, clearer legal claims to underlying shares, interoperable settlement assets and stronger liquidity safeguards as exchanges and crypto firms expand tokenized stock offerings.