The case for collateral tokenisation 2025: report

A clear viewpoint on the journey to broad-based use of tokenised collateral.

In Partnership with

Collateral inefficiency is causing a measurable earnings and cost problem for financial institutions. This report examines how firms managing an average of USD 74 billion in collateral are losing value through unremunerated assets. It covers where tokenisation could lead to lower costs, better utilisation and higher treasury income.

Idle collateral today

Inefficiency

This represents potential average lost earnings of USD 2.82 billion per firm per annum — avoidable drag that tokenisation could directly address.

The scale of unremunerated collateral makes mobilisation efficiency one of the highest-value transformation opportunities available.

Tier one savings

Savings

Tier two and tier three firms would also benefit, with expected savings of USD 190 million and USD 7.7 million respectively.

The savings are driven by better mobilisation, reduced over-posting and improved use of collateral already held.

Going live in 2026

Adoption

Custodians are moving faster than most front-office participants — suggesting the infrastructure layer is ahead of the market.

The gap between custodian and market-wide readiness will shape how quickly tokenised collateral reaches meaningful scale.

Collateral inefficiency is too expensive to ignore. As firms manage larger pools of collateral under tighter liquidity constraints, tokenisation is a practical way to reduce friction and unlock value.

How much capital is currently trapped by precautionary buffers, settlement uncertainty and underused collateral? What would change if firms could move collateral more efficiently, reduce operating drag and improve earnings at scale?

The whitepaper examines the operational, financial and strategic case for tokenised collateral. It draws on market evidence around current inefficiencies, expected savings and the conditions needed for broader adoption across the collateral lifecycle.

The research, produced in partnership with Nasdaq, highlights:

The average firm manages US dollar (USD) 74 billion in collateral, illustrating the scale of assets exposed to inefficient processes and restricted mobility

25% of collateral remains unremunerated overnight or is posted as additional buffer, creating avoidable drag on treasury performance

Tokenisation could reduce operating costs by 12%, lower buffer capital needs by 12% and improve collateral utilisation by 3.2%

The opportunity is estimated at USD 346 million for Tier 1 firms, USD 190 million for Tier 2 firms and USD 7.7 million for Tier 3 firms

Adoption depends on market readiness: legal certainty, regulatory clarity, technology infrastructure and ecosystem coordination will shape how quickly firms can move from interest to implementation

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