The tokenisation continuum

Key takeaways

• Tokenising claims involves transforming them into tokens on a common programmable platform that combine a core layer, which contains information about the tokenised asset and its ownership, with a service layer embedding the platform's rules and governance.
• Tokenisation enables the automation of transactions involving money as well as financial and real assets, opening the way to the contingent transfer of claims and combinations of transactions via smart contracts.
• Economic, legal and technical challenges span a "tokenisation continuum" which describes the feasibility of tokenising traditional assets; gains are modest where tokenisation is easiest but the most valuable gains would involve the largest challenges.