IMF study shows tokenized repo markets growing to $300-350B daily volume but remaining fragmented and more volatile than traditional markets.
Macro & Markets ·
The International Monetary Fund's October 2026 Global Financial Stability Report documents daily tokenized repo trading between $300 billion and $350 billion, with an additional $65 billion in volume across tokenized credit, money market funds, equities and other assets. These figures place tokenized activity in material terms at the venue level, yet substantially below the $13 trillion daily US repo market and the hundreds of trillions in global capital markets.
The IMF analysis reveals structural constraints limiting liquidity and price stability. Trading occurs across disconnected platforms and settlement networks, with issuance concentrated in the United States and select offshore centers. This venue-level division reduces market depth and produces wider price swings than conventional counterparts. The study notes that more than half of observed trades happened beyond standard exchange hours, and roughly 80 percent of tokenized-equity trades involved fractional shares, pointing to actual user demand for continuous access and divisible ownership rather than emerging features.
Price signals do flow between tokenized and traditional markets overnight, suggesting both respond to common information, yet this connection does not establish reliable execution for individual positions. The IMF concludes that aggregate volume masks the reality that specific assets and settlement routes may lack sufficient secondary-market depth, obliging users to evaluate liquidity for each particular instrument and network rather than relying on overall market figures.