What is Tokenisation?
Tokenisation is the process of converting ownership rights in a real-world asset into a digital token recorded on a distributed ledger. The asset itself – which can be a share, a unit or cash balance does not disappear, instead the recording of ownership changes. What would have previously been recorded in a registry, or a spreadsheet now lives on a blockchain, a form of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), where every transfer is verified and timestamped.
To put it simply, tokenisation replaces a paper trail with a single source of truth.
How Does Asset Tokenisation Work on FCX’s Platform?
1) A real-world asset is brought onto the platform and verified. This is the onboarding stage, where the issuer’s ownership is confirmed and the asset is prepared for digital representation.
2) The asset is issued as a token on the ledger. One token, or a set of tokens, represents the ownership rights to the asset, and these rights are written directly into the token’s code.
3) Smart contracts outline what can and cannot happen to the token. They self-complete when a transfer meets all required conditions, including whether the buyer is verified, the funds are available, the trade is authorised, and the transaction complies with regulatory obligations. If any condition fails, the transfer does not complete.
4) Finally, settlement happens atomically. As soon as a trade executes, the token moves to the buyer, and the cash moves to the seller in a single step. There is no multi-day settlement wait, no intermediary holding the position, and no manual reconciliation to follow.
This provides an ownership record that updates the instant a trade happens, enforces compliance automatically, and immutable records.
Why is Tokenisation Beneficial?
There are three key benefits of tokenisation: efficiency, operational integrity, and compliance.
It is beneficial for efficiency because tokenised assets settle atomically. The exchange of payment and ownership happens in a single transaction, which collapses the traditional multi-day settlement window (typically T+1 or T+2 depending on the market) into something closer to T+0. For a seller, that means proceeds are received on the day of the trade rather than days later. For a buyer, ownership is recognised the moment the transaction executes. For the issuer, there is no settlement float, no unreconciled position, and counterparty risk during settlement is materially reduced.
In terms of operational integrity and compliance, tokenisation replaces manual reconciliation with programmable logic. Under the traditional model, settlement depends on multiple intermediaries reconciling positions across separate systems, where each handoff introduces the possibility of an input error, a missed transfer, or a regulatory gap. Smart contracts automate those rules and enforce consistency, with the transaction reverting if any condition fails. From there, an audit trail is generated automatically and immutably as a byproduct of execution, rather than being reconstructed after the fact.
Are Global Exchanges Investing in Tokenisation?
Yes, and the pace has increased considerably over the past eighteen months. Three of the world’s largest exchange groups have moved from exploring the space to actively building infrastructure. This is understandable, given that the RWA tokenisation market grew over 260% in the first half of 2025 alone, from $8.6 billion to over $23 billion, and is only expected to grow.
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) announced in January 2026 that it is developing a platform for trading and on-chain settlement of tokenised securities, featuring 24/7 operations, instant settlement and stablecoin-based funding, subject to SEC approval. In March 2026, NYSE signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Securitize to act as the first digital transfer agent on the platform, demonstrating that tokenisation is no longer a fringe concept, but a prominent part of the infrastructure roadmap for US equities.
Nasdaq announced a partnership with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, in March 2026 to develop an “equity token design” and an “equities transformation gateway” that bridges regulated capital markets and on-chain markets. The framework, which builds on Kraken’s existing xStocks tokenised equity infrastructure, is expected to become operational in the first half of 2027 subject to SEC approval.
The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) launched its Digital Markets Infrastructure (DMI) in September 2025, becoming the first major global stock exchange to offer a blockchain-based platform for the full lifecycle of digital assets, starting with private funds. Built on Microsoft Azure, DMI covers issuance, tokenisation, distribution, and post-trade settlement, with expansion to other asset classes planned.
Each of these moves shows the trend towards tokenisation – even the largest, most conservative venues in global finance have evaluated that including tokenisation is critical, and they are willing to invest at scale to be ready for it.
The stats support this trend too – Calastone highlights that tokenised AUM grew 85% in 6 months to $24 billion in June 2025 and the same report also forecast tokenised fund AUM growing from $4 billion in 2024 to $235 billion by 2029 – a 58x increase.
How is FCX Investing in Tokenisation?
FCX holds both an Australian Market Licence and a Clearing and Settlement Facility Licence, granted by ASIC and the RBA. This means FCX can run the full lifecycle of a transaction (matching, execution, clearing, settlement, registry) inside one regulated environment, rather than using multiple providers to stitch it together.
The platform uses DAML-based asset tokenisation to represent ownership of shares and cash as digital tokens. Smart contracts govern transfers, settlement is atomic, and cap tables automatically update.
Companies get a secure, real-time view of their ownership register, while investors get liquidity in a market that has historically had very little of it. Both get the compliance, transparency, and efficiency that tokenisation is built to deliver.
With regulatory uncertainty and unclear legal recognition consistently cited by institutional investors as among the most significant barriers to tokenisation adoption, FCX’s regulated environment directly addresses these concerns.
To find out more or request a demo:
https://fcx.com.au/contact-us/
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