The irony of tokenization: Are financial incumbents the key to scaling digital asset securities?

At Howest Cyber3Lab, we’re keeping a close eye on tokenization — especially how it can move from innovation labs into real-world adoption for SMEs and consumers.

A tokenized asset is a real-world asset represented digitally on a blockchain, making it more transferable, tradable, and programmable. This includes stocks, bonds, real estate, or art. Yet, adoption has been slow due to fragmentation and regulatory uncertainty.

For too long, tokenized assets have either been:

• Fully custodial, managed by niche providers that are less familiar to most consumers, who may feel more inclined to hold assets with their trusted bank, or
• Designed for crypto enthusiasts, limiting mainstream adoption.

That’s why SWIFT stepping into digital asset securities is a major signal.

With 11,000+ financial institutions across 200+ countries, SWIFT is the backbone of financial messaging — connecting banks, securities markets, and global payments infrastructure.
By expanding into tokenized finance, they’re bridging traditional finance and digital assets at scale.

This isn’t their first significant move. Their migration to ISO 20022, an open financial messaging standard built for interoperability, was a major shift toward global financial interoperability. Now, they’re signaling interest in extending this infrastructure to digital asset securities — a step that could standardize the interaction between digital and traditional finance.

Their latest report highlights 5 key opportunities to bring tokenized finance to the mainstream:

• Roles & Responsibilities – Clearer accountability for market participants.
• Token Standards – Standardizing interactions for broader adoption.
• The Cash Leg – Enabling digital cash settlements for tokenized assets.
• Cross-Chain Interoperability – Connecting blockchains across ecosystems.
• Reference Data – Universal identifiers to reduce fragmentation.

For those working to bridge blockchain and everyday businesses, this could be the moment tokenization moves from novelty to mainstream.
SWIFT has reach, trust, and infrastructure — but is that enough?

Because in the end, it’s not just about where and how custody is managed — it’s about what works best for users and how everything interconnects.
Tokenization will only succeed if all custody models — whether fully custodial, self-custody, or hybrid — can interoperate seamlessly.

🌐 Swift’s report can be found in my LinkedIn post or through Swift’s article