Central banks are accelerating their examination of tokenized reserves as they prepare for a financial system where tokenized assets and distributed ledger technology could become mainstream. According to a November 2025 IMF Fintech Note, Central Bank Exploration of Tokenized Reserves, authorities are looking for ways to maintain the role of central bank money in fast evolving digital markets .
The report explains that reserves already exist in digital form, and that the shift concerns infrastructure rather than monetary design. Tokenized reserves refer to central bank liabilities issued on permissioned DLT platforms for use by licensed financial institutions. Their purpose is to ensure that risk free settlement continues even as tokenized financial instruments proliferate across markets.
Why tokenized reserves are gaining interest
The IMF highlights two core policy motivations. First, central banks want to preserve the safety and liquidity of central bank money in environments where tokenized assets require new settlement mechanisms. Second, they see potential efficiency gains from programmable workflows, atomic settlement, and improved resilience through distributed architectures.
Atomic settlement, defined in the report as the ability to ensure multi leg transactions execute fully or not at all, is viewed as an important advantage. With assets and money recorded on a single ledger, delivery versus payment can be automated without the operational dependencies seen in traditional systems. A diagram on page 8 of the report illustrates how atomicity removes settlement risk by ensuring strict simultaneity between asset and cash transfer.
The IMF notes that previous experiments with DLT based RTGS systems did not yield strong incentives for replacement of existing infrastructure. Instead, momentum has shifted toward more complex use cases such as cross border PvP, multicurrency platforms, and programmable conditional settlement.
Different models and policy trade offs
The report describes several ledger and governance models under consideration. Central banks may choose full control models, joint governance with financial institutions, or outsourced technology arrangements. A set of diagrams on pages 11 and 12 shows how single ledger and multi ledger models vary in control, interoperability, and operational risk.
Implementation choices will depend on market readiness, internal capacity, and the desired level of programmability. The IMF stresses that adopting tokenized reserves does not automatically change monetary policy transmission, but new features such as automated liquidity management could require updated governance and risk frameworks.
Alternatives to tokenized reserves
The analysis also outlines alternatives, including RTGS links, omnibus accounts, and privately issued tokenized money. A table on page 28 compares these solutions by cost, control, programmability, and alignment with public policy goals. None fully replicates the guarantees of central bank money on a unified ledger, but each may serve jurisdictions that are not ready to issue tokenized reserves directly.
Strategic choices ahead
The IMF suggests that central banks are at different stages, with some conducting live pilots and others focusing on foundational research. A prioritization chart on page 29 shows pathways that range from exploratory testing to gradual deployment of DLT based settlement layers.
As tokenization accelerates in global markets, the report concludes that central banks will need to decide how best to protect financial stability while adapting to new technologies. For Europe, where the ECB is simultaneously developing a digital euro and assessing wholesale settlement modernization, the findings underscore the strategic importance of infrastructure choices in the years ahead.