Collateral operations are mission-critical—but manual processes, corrective buffers and settlement failures are creating costly post-trade frictions. A new global report from Nasdaq and the ValueExchange surveys firms on their tokenization plans, the impact to capital efficiency, the realities of institutionalization and how the industry can move forward.
Our global survey examined collateral operations across investment banks, custodians, prime brokers, asset managers and CCPs to assess current challenges and tokenization readiness.
The research reveals that 52% of firms expect to manage live tokenized collateral by the end of 2026. Today, however, 70% of respondents report settlement matching and delivery issues daily, reflecting the reliance on manual processes that continue to challenge efficiency.
Industry workarounds are common: 35% of firms post more than half their collateral overnight to ensure timely delivery, while the average firm maintains approximately 7% excess collateral as a buffer against potential failures.
These corrective behaviors mean roughly 25% of total collateral usage earns no returns for the owner. That’s led to a focus on collateral tokenization, which can address uncertainty and enable firms to reduce buffers and mobilize previously idle assets. Tier 1 firms, who in our research hold roughly $36.8 billion in excess or non-remunerated collateral, can leverage tokenization to achieve an annual interest earning increase of $346 million, with smaller firms gaining anywhere between $7 million and $190 million.
We spoke to 203 market participants across North America (15%), Europe (26%), Middle East/Africa (20%) and Asia-Pacific (15%). The quantitative findings were supplemented by 50+ hours of interviews with collateral specialists, treasury leaders and industry working groups.
The research turned up notable insights including:
Share who rank repos as the highest-priority use case for tokenization, followed by OTC and listed derivatives.
Share of respondents who expect significant business impact from tokenization, outpacing EMEA and APAC respondents.
Share who see the Common Domain Model as foundation for cross-chain connectivity.
Share of total trade costs attributable to OTC operating costs.
Tokenization is all about reducing the friction in the trade.
Tokenization means 120 more hours in each week.
Our research found tokenization could eliminate 1 in 8 failed trades, potentially creating a virtuous domino effect felt across collateral operations:
Survey respondents identified significant implementation considerations. Project costs averaged $2 million in 2025—potentially consuming up to one-third of revenue upside for smaller firms. Network connectivity fees of approximately 2 basis points per chain become prohibitive for multi-chain connectivity. System duplication remains unavoidable, as few traditional platforms process digital assets natively. Moving to 24/7 margining requires expanded staffing coverage that regional institutions find cost-prohibitive.
Nasdaq and the ValueExchange partnered to examine how tokenized collateral is becoming a reality for institutional markets, and what it will take to scale adoption globally.
Please check your inbox to read the report.
Derivatives markets could be a proving ground for the transition to tokenized collateral. Nasdaq's Dan Upbin explores the impact to operations and how firms should think about technology.
Market infrastructures will have a critical role to play in bridging TradFi and DeFi. Nasdaq's Gerard Smith looks at how CSDs and CCPs can lead the post-trade shift to tokenized collateral.
Our new survey found tokenized collateral can increase utilization and annual interest earnings. What other impacts might collateral tokenization have across the post-trade lifecycle?
Nasdaq's Sophie Marnhier-Foy, Head of Digital Asset Solutions, looks at the transformative impact of tokenization across post-trade operations.
Nasdaq and industry experts discuss how institutional adoption of tokenized collateral may play out in industry use cases. Read the highlights and find a link to the webinar recording.
Nasdaq President Tal Cohen explains Nasdaq's recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to trade tokenized securities.
Nasdaq Financial Technology serves more than 3,800 clients globally, including exchanges, CCPs, GSIBs, regional banks, buy side, central banks and others. Our solutions span trading, clearing, risk, surveillance and central securities depositories technology for market operators. We also provide end-to-end, cross-asset capital markets technology and regulatory reporting for participants to manage front, middle and back office functions.
