Almost two-thirds (63%) of institutional investors and wealth managers say tokenised assets would become more eligible for investment if they were SEC registered according to new research from ST0x.
Almost half (48%) believe tokenised assets would be mandate eligible if the associated trading venue was licensed.
The research across North America, the UK, continental Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific found firms would value a single approved instrument which is distributable across multiple EEA jurisdictions. Nearly two out of five (38%) said this would remove a significant compliance burden, while more than half (55%) said it would make a moderate difference.
When asked what would be most likely to increase their firm’s traded volume in tokenised securities over the next year, 29% of professional investors said automatic and predictable corporate action handling across all event types. More than a quarter (27%) said named, regulated custody of the underlying with independent verification.
Just under one-fifth (19%) of study participants said a legally enforceable claim on the underlying security would most increase trading volumes in tokenised assets, while 17% said approval by an EEA or equivalent regulator. Six per cent cited deeper secondary markets and tighter spreads while 3% said lower transaction costs.
The biggest potential regulatory changes in the next 24 months that would concern tokenised asset investors highlighted by the survey is divergence between US and EU treatment creating fragmented liquidity cited by 39%. Just over a quarter (27%) said instruments being reclassified after allocation has been made, while 25% pointed to enforcement action against a major venue or issuer. Just 7% said the continued absence of any clear framework would be the biggest concern.
Nick Magliocchetti, director, S01 Issuer GmbH and director, ST0x Group, said: “Regulatory certainty and institutional-grade infrastructure will be critical to unlocking the next phase of tokenised securities adoption. Investors want confidence that a tokenised security represents a legally enforceable claim on the underlying asset, that it can be held with a recognised custodian and traded on a regulated venue, and that corporate actions can be handled reliably. As these foundations develop, tokenised securities can move from being treated as an emerging digital asset category towards becoming a familiar and mandate-eligible way of accessing traditional markets.”
Tokenised ETFs were identified as offering the greatest near-term utility to one-third of survey respondents versus 28% who said tokenised single name equities are an easier entry point. Almost two-fifths (39%) see both as offering equal near-term utility.
ST0x Group commissioned independent research agency PureProfile to interview 200 professional investors in August 2026. They included fund managers, pension funds, insurance asset managers, family offices, wealth managers, hedge funds or proprietary trading firms, bank or broker dealers, custodians, administrators and market infrastructure providers.
