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Freedom251 › Blog › CBDCs

CONNECT recap: Why liquidity is tokenization’s next challenge—and where everyday stablecoins fit

By Freedom251 Team · · 7 min read

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Tokenization can make financial claims programmable and available for transfer around the clock, but issuing a token does not create a liquid market. The decisive questions are whether buyers and sellers are present, whether holders can redeem at a credible price, whether the underlying asset can be sold quickly, and whether all parties share a reliable settlement asset and interoperable infrastructure. Stablecoins address part of that problem by combining blockchain transfer with a fiat-linked value promise; they do not remove reserve, redemption, issuer or regulatory risk.

Tokenization changes the ledger, not the underlying liquidity

A token is a digital representation of an asset, claim or payment instrument. It can automate issuance, trading, servicing and redemption, reduce reconciliation work and make transfer instructions programmable. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in 2025 that these efficiencies could reduce delays and improve liquidity.

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Those benefits are different from creating market depth. A tokenized security still needs willing buyers, sellers, market makers, legal transfer rights and a settlement asset that counterparties trust. The Financial Stability Board (FSB) identified liquidity and maturity mismatch as a core vulnerability in 2024: a token can trade as if it were liquid even when the referenced asset cannot be sold or redeemed at the same speed.

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Why a 24/7 token can still be hard to exit

Consider a tokenized private-credit fund. Its units might transfer on a ledger at any hour, while the loans in the fund take weeks or months to mature or sell. The token’s apparent liquidity could therefore exceed the portfolio’s liquidity. If many holders request redemption together, the fund may need to sell assets at distressed prices, suspend redemptions or impose gates. This is an implication of the maturity-mismatch risks described by the FSB and IMF, not a measured case study.

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The FSB also lists leverage, asset-price and asset-quality risk, interconnectedness and operational fragility as related vulnerabilities. Faster transfer can make stress move faster; it does not make the reference assets safer.

What determines real liquidity

Investors assessing a tokenized asset should separate trading convenience from the ability to obtain cash. The following tests cover the main sources of liquidity risk identified by the IMF, FSB and Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

Question Why it matters
Is there market depth? A transferable token is not liquid without recurring two-sided orders, credible pricing and enough counterparties to absorb a sale.
Who can redeem? Terms should identify eligible holders, notice periods, fees, gates, suspension rights and the assets or cash delivered on redemption.
How liquid is the reference asset? Daily token trading cannot turn loans, private companies, property or long-dated bonds into same-day cash.
What settles the trade? Stablecoins, tokenized bank deposits and central-bank money carry different credit, liquidity and access risks.
Can the token move between ledgers? Fragmented blockchains can silo apparently identical claims. Bridges and wrappers add technical and counterparty dependencies.
Who is legally protected? Ownership, transfer finality, custody, insolvency treatment and investor protections must be enforceable in the relevant jurisdiction.
Can the system keep operating? Issuers, custodians, oracles, bridges and smart contracts can all become points of failure.

Why stablecoins are becoming practical settlement instruments

Stablecoins are generally dollar-denominated tokens designed to maintain a fiat-linked value. Issuers commonly back them with liquid assets such as Treasury securities. Their appeal for payments is operational: they can move on blockchain rails, carry programmable conditions and reach users across borders without relying on a single local payment window.

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The scale is no longer confined to small experiments. The IMF reported in 2025 that the two largest stablecoins had a combined market capitalization of about $260 billion and that stablecoin trading volume reached $23 trillion in 2024. Those figures describe market activity, not proof that every token is redeemable at par in every circumstance.

What makes a stablecoin useful for an everyday payment

  • Predictable value: recipients need confidence that the token can be converted to local currency or used for another payment at a transparent rate.
  • Reliable redemption: holders need a clear process, known eligibility rules and sufficient liquidity when demand rises.
  • Low-friction access: wallets, exchanges, merchants and banks must support the same token and meet applicable compliance requirements.
  • Interoperable rails: a token trapped on one network is less useful than one that can settle across the systems used by counterparties.
  • Operational resilience: the issuer, custody arrangements, smart contracts and network must remain available during market stress.

Are stablecoins really money?

They can perform some money-like functions—transfer, settlement and a unit linked to a familiar currency—but the holder owns an issuer-dependent claim, not automatically a deposit or a central-bank liability. Par convertibility depends on reserve quality, market liquidity, issuer resilience and credible redemption arrangements. The IMF has also highlighted policy issues involving currency substitution, illicit finance, cross-border visibility and access to central-bank liquidity where appropriate.

The BIS stated in a June 24, 2025 media release: “Stablecoins as a form of sound money fall short, and without regulation pose a risk to financial stability and monetary sovereignty.” That is a policy assessment, not a claim that every stablecoin has identical design or risk.

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Choosing the settlement asset

Tokenized markets can use different forms of money to settle a trade. The choice affects who bears credit risk, who can access the rail and how redemption works.

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Settlement asset Primary promise Main liquidity and risk questions
Stablecoin Blockchain transfer with a fiat-linked value backed by issuer reserves. Are reserves liquid and segregated? Can all eligible holders redeem promptly? What happens during a run or issuer failure?
Tokenized bank deposit A commercial-bank liability represented on a ledger. What deposit protection, banking access and intraday liquidity apply? Can the token move outside the issuing bank’s network?
Central-bank money Settlement in a direct central-bank liability, where access is available. Which institutions and transactions qualify? What operating hours, legal framework and technical standards govern the system?

The BIS’s 2025 unified-ledger proposal combines tokenized central-bank reserves, commercial-bank money and government bonds. The BIS argues that tokenization can bring messaging, reconciliation and settlement into a more integrated process. That architecture still requires rules for access, finality, custody and interoperability.

Interoperability can make or break liquidity

Two tokens that reference the same asset are not necessarily interchangeable if they live on separate ledgers, use different identity and compliance rules or depend on a bridge. A bridge can introduce additional smart-contract, governance and counterparty risk; an oracle can feed incorrect prices or asset data; and a custodian can become a single point of operational failure. The BIS Financial Stability Institute (BIS/FSI) warned in 2025 that these dependencies can affect both platform functioning and token valuation.

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Interoperability therefore means more than sending a token from chain A to chain B. It includes consistent legal records, message standards, settlement finality, identity controls, corporate actions and a way to resolve errors or a compromised contract.

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What happens if everyone redeems at once?

A mass redemption tests the gap between the token’s promise and the assets behind it. If reserves are cash or highly liquid securities and the issuer has dependable banking and settlement access, requests may be met in an orderly way. If reserves are harder to sell, markets are closed, counterparties withdraw or contractual gates apply, the issuer may delay or limit payments. A falling token price can then accelerate withdrawals and force asset sales, creating a run.

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For tokenized funds, the same mechanism can arise when a liquid secondary market lets holders exit faster than the underlying loans, property or private securities can be realized. Sound design requires transparent reserve and portfolio reporting, realistic redemption terms, stress testing, segregation of assets and an explicit plan for outages, insolvency and market closure.

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Regulation and central-bank projects will shape everyday use

Rules will determine whether stablecoins become broadly usable payment instruments or remain mainly crypto-market settlement tools. Policymakers must address reserve custody, disclosure, redemption rights, prudential requirements, consumer protection, anti-money-laundering controls and the treatment of failures across borders.

The direction of official infrastructure is also significant. A BIS survey published in 2025 found that 85 of 93 responding central banks—91%—were exploring retail CBDCs, wholesale CBDCs or both. More than one-third had accelerated CBDC work in light of stablecoins and other cryptoassets. The survey indicates institutional interest, not a prediction that a particular CBDC will launch.

The IMF began updating its Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual in 2025 to address stablecoins, digital financial assets, tokenization, liquidity, credit and systemic risk. That update reflects a market whose measurement and classification frameworks are still evolving.

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How to evaluate a tokenized asset before relying on its liquidity

  1. Identify the legal claim. Determine whether the token represents ownership, a fund unit, a debt claim, a deposit or a contractual right to redemption.
  2. Read the exit terms. Check who may redeem, the notice period, fees, valuation time, suspension powers and the assets delivered.
  3. Map the maturity mismatch. Compare the token’s transfer frequency with the time needed to sell or mature the underlying assets.
  4. Verify the settlement asset. Establish whether settlement uses a stablecoin, tokenized deposit or central-bank money and identify the associated issuer or bank risk.
  5. Trace dependencies. List the custodian, oracle, bridge, wallet, smart contracts and network operators, then ask how each is replaced or recovered after failure.
  6. Test interoperability and finality. Confirm which venues support the token, when a transfer becomes legally final and how mistaken or fraudulent transfers are handled.
  7. Review stress procedures. Look for reserve disclosures, redemption-capacity tests, outage plans, governance controls and communications for a run.

Tokenization’s next challenge is therefore liquidity engineering, not merely issuance. Stablecoins can provide a programmable settlement leg, while tokenized deposits or central-bank money may provide different forms of finality and credit protection. None is a substitute for deep markets, credible redemption, interoperable rails and resilient institutions.

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CBDCsDigital Assetsfinancial regulationliquidityStablecoinstokenization

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