IMF finds tokenized stocks 1.5 times as volatile as the shares they track
In brief
- Tokenized stocks are about 1.5 times as volatile as their traditional equivalents, the IMF says.
- More than half of tokenized stock trading happened outside regular U.S. market hours, the IMF found.
- About 80% of tokenized stock trades were for less than one share.
- Tokenized RWAs total near $65 billion, with equities at roughly $2.3 billion, per the IMF.
What the IMF found
The report, titled "Scaling Tokenization: New efficiencies and new vulnerabilities," examined the five most actively traded tokenized U.S. equities (including Tesla, Nvidia and Alphabet) along with measures such as the Nasdaq 100 Index, across both centralized and decentralized venues.
Most of the activity happened off-hours and in small sizes. According to the IMF, more than half of trading took place outside regular U.S. market hours, and about 80% of trades were for less than one share. The report treats that as evidence investors value 24/7 access and lower entry points, not just the tech underneath.
Overnight moves weren't noise, either. The IMF said that once U.S. markets opened, more than 85% of the overnight movement in tokenized shares showed up in their traditional counterparts within five minutes.
The catch?
Tokenized stocks were about 1.5 times as volatile as the equivalent shares on traditional venues and significantly less liquid, the IMF said.
A small market, for now
The IMF put the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market at about $65 billion as of July 31, with tokenized equities making up roughly $2.3 billion of that. SIFMA puts 2025 global equity market capitalization at just under $160 trillion.
More venues are getting involved. Bullish (a Gibraltar-based crypto company and CoinDesk's parent) introduced tokenized equity trading in August, and OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (owner of the NYSE) filed plans for a round-the-clock venue for tokenized U.S. shares. Coinbase, Kraken, Binance and Robinhood also offer tokenized stock trading. CoinDesk reported that the market's split across private platforms, public blockchains, custodians and settlement tools that often don't work together.
The IMF's warnings
The IMF said tokenization could replace some manual record reconciliation, automate tasks such as dividend payments and speed up collateral transfers. It also warned that automated margin calls and liquidations, collateral moving between platforms and 24-hour trading could make a market shock harder to contain.
The IMF said those risks are still small because tokenized markets are still small. Its report argued that legal rules on ownership, liquidity safeguards, links between systems and settlement arrangements need to be developed before the market grows much larger.
In a separate industry comment (not part of the IMF findings), Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said moving assets onchain is only the first step.
The bigger question is how efficiently that capital can work once it is there.
Frequently asked questions
How volatile are tokenized stocks compared with regular shares?
According to the IMF's latest Global Financial Stability Report, as reported by CoinDesk, tokenized stocks were about 1.5 times as volatile as the equivalent shares on traditional venues. The IMF also found them significantly less liquid than the equities they track.
How big is the tokenized stock market?
The IMF estimated the tokenized real-world asset market at about $65 billion as of July 31, and tokenized equities made up roughly $2.3 billion of that. SIFMA puts 2025 global equity market capitalization at just under $160 trillion.
What risks did the IMF flag in tokenized markets?
The IMF warned that automated margin calls and liquidations, collateral moving between platforms and 24-hour trading could make a market shock harder to contain. It said those risks are still small because tokenized markets remain small, but argued that legal, liquidity and settlement rules need to be developed before the market grows much larger.
