Steve Vallas

The problems that constrain tokenization at scale do not belong to one working group, one institution, or one regulatory perimeter. Cross-ledger settlement, stablecoin licensing fragmentation, FMI readiness in developing markets, and the legal enforceability of smart contracts are structurally connected with each a precondition for the next, each requiring actors across infrastructure and regulation to work from the same evidence base.

This session brings both working groups together for the first time in person. Working Group 1 (Interoperability and Infrastructure) and Working Group 2 (Regulation, Trust, and Governance) will each present their problem statements before presenting to the Oversight Panel. The purpose is to establish shared understanding of the initiative's full scope, test framing with peers who approach the same challenges from different vantage points, and sharpen the asks that each working group will direct to the Oversight Panel in the session that follows.

About the initiative

GFTN has launched _Tokenization in Finance: Evidence and Implementation Pathways_, a structured, multi-stakeholder initiative convening two working groups drawn from leading financial institutions, infrastructure providers, and market participants to assemble a practitioner-oriented evidence base spanning spanning digital money and payment rails through to tokenized real-world assets, securities, funds, and capital markets infrastructure. At Singapore FinTech Festival in November 2026, the initiative will publish a practitioner guide designed to give financial institutions a structured basis for sequencing their digital asset strategies, and to equip regulators and finance ministries in emerging and developing economies with implementation pathways they can draw on directly.

Stablecoins have crossed $300 billion in circulation. Tokenized deposits are live at various global banks. Yet for all the headline numbers, the hard question remains unanswered: how do programmable money instruments actually integrate with the treasury operations, correspondent banking relationships, and payments infrastructure that keep traditional finance running?

This session convenes senior practitioners from banks, corporates, and digital asset firms to examine the real friction points - legal, operational, and technical - where digital money collides with TradFi plumbing, and where the integration is showing progress. Participants will discuss strategies to scale the integration of digital assets within traditional operations, including updating risk management frameworks, adhering to regulatory requirements, and architecting interoperability across systems.