ISLA Americas: Scaling for a rapidly evolving digital market
15 October 2026 US
Image: fanjianhua/stock.adobe.com
The market has been talking about its potential, but digital assets are now here.
With several years full of debate, testing, and proving that distributed ledger technology (DLT) and tokenised instruments can work, it is not a matter of 鈥榠f鈥�, it is a matter of how the market deploys that technology, according to the opening panel at the ISLA Americas 3rd Annual 网爆吃瓜 Finance & Collateral Management Conference.
The panel highlighted that there is plenty of room for improvement in today鈥檚 infrastructure, in particular when it comes to repo transactions, securities lending, the amalgamation of optimising a portfolio and collateral, as well as meeting calls and requirements.
But when it comes to scaling technology, how can firms achieve this operationally, commercially, legally, and institutionally?
There is a real-world need for the development currently being seen in the market, with regard to repo transactions and collateral mobility. And, with extended trading hours and the proliferation of asset classes moving to 24/7 markets, the panel believes there is a real need for securities lending transactions to be tokenised.
Despite a general positive outlook on a digital move forward and scaling of this technology, there remains some digital scepticism, to which one panellist said was for 鈥済ood reason鈥� as the industry is 鈥渘ot there yet鈥�.
Moving the conversation forward, the panellists discussed how to broaden adoption and expansion, why now is the right time to participate, and what is holding adoption back.
For one panellist, traditional markets are beginning to learn that 24/7 markets are now a requisite for market participants. Digital asset markets have already enabled the ability to move value 24/7, but in the traditional space, exchanges are launching 24/7 trading without 24/7 collateral mobility. As a key takeaway, the panellist stated that the industry must solve for the underlying collateral and value movement associated with 24/7 trading.
Moving forward, one speaker touched on the preparation needed to use platforms that are using DLT. That preparation relates to updating processes that enable large institutions to embrace the ability to both report and execute intraday transactions.
They indicated a fundamental requirement for consumers of intraday liquidity to fund the cost of collateral buffers to support that intraday liquidity. Without attribution of the resource to the consumer, it is 鈥渧ery difficult鈥� to change market behaviour.
He indicated that large scale institutions need to step in to improve existing reporting around exposures. Following execution, the transaction needs to flow through the books and records of the institution to help remedy the identified exposure 鈥� this is where the industry has work to do.
In terms of speeding up market adoption, the panel heard that C-suites need to take a more holistic view in terms of the strategic direction of travel. They need to identify that the economic benefits of leaning into this technology are real and significant. Lastly, the panel said C-suites need to provide a roadmap to trading desk heads to lean into this industry and therefore support market adoption.
For blockchains, the panel understood that this has to scale to meet market demand. The traditional markets need to take a cue from the DeFi markets, one person stated, where end users can easily access the assets and trade those assets 24/7.
Another key takeaway from the panel indicated that retail-driven product and demand is going to change the way participants think about what they are supposed to build and what they are supposed to offer. The innovations coming out of the DeFi space are expected to do so as well.
It is a fascinating time for market participants, with one in particular indicating a level and speed of innovation and adoption never seen before.
However, while the market aims for full steam ahead, with an eagerness to speed up adoption, others have raised concerns about the direction of travel. The market could be faced with multiple digital asset networks, multiple venues, and tokenisation platforms, leading to further fragmentation.
The market could face a world where traders may be forced to pick rails and institutions may be forced to pick blockchain technologies. This could ultimately lead to a requirement for a unified mechanism to avoid fragmenting liquidity.
Coming to an end, market participants were advised not to place bets on any blockchain solution today, because the blockchain world itself is evolving quite rapidly.
With several years full of debate, testing, and proving that distributed ledger technology (DLT) and tokenised instruments can work, it is not a matter of 鈥榠f鈥�, it is a matter of how the market deploys that technology, according to the opening panel at the ISLA Americas 3rd Annual 网爆吃瓜 Finance & Collateral Management Conference.
The panel highlighted that there is plenty of room for improvement in today鈥檚 infrastructure, in particular when it comes to repo transactions, securities lending, the amalgamation of optimising a portfolio and collateral, as well as meeting calls and requirements.
But when it comes to scaling technology, how can firms achieve this operationally, commercially, legally, and institutionally?
There is a real-world need for the development currently being seen in the market, with regard to repo transactions and collateral mobility. And, with extended trading hours and the proliferation of asset classes moving to 24/7 markets, the panel believes there is a real need for securities lending transactions to be tokenised.
Despite a general positive outlook on a digital move forward and scaling of this technology, there remains some digital scepticism, to which one panellist said was for 鈥済ood reason鈥� as the industry is 鈥渘ot there yet鈥�.
Moving the conversation forward, the panellists discussed how to broaden adoption and expansion, why now is the right time to participate, and what is holding adoption back.
For one panellist, traditional markets are beginning to learn that 24/7 markets are now a requisite for market participants. Digital asset markets have already enabled the ability to move value 24/7, but in the traditional space, exchanges are launching 24/7 trading without 24/7 collateral mobility. As a key takeaway, the panellist stated that the industry must solve for the underlying collateral and value movement associated with 24/7 trading.
Moving forward, one speaker touched on the preparation needed to use platforms that are using DLT. That preparation relates to updating processes that enable large institutions to embrace the ability to both report and execute intraday transactions.
They indicated a fundamental requirement for consumers of intraday liquidity to fund the cost of collateral buffers to support that intraday liquidity. Without attribution of the resource to the consumer, it is 鈥渧ery difficult鈥� to change market behaviour.
He indicated that large scale institutions need to step in to improve existing reporting around exposures. Following execution, the transaction needs to flow through the books and records of the institution to help remedy the identified exposure 鈥� this is where the industry has work to do.
In terms of speeding up market adoption, the panel heard that C-suites need to take a more holistic view in terms of the strategic direction of travel. They need to identify that the economic benefits of leaning into this technology are real and significant. Lastly, the panel said C-suites need to provide a roadmap to trading desk heads to lean into this industry and therefore support market adoption.
For blockchains, the panel understood that this has to scale to meet market demand. The traditional markets need to take a cue from the DeFi markets, one person stated, where end users can easily access the assets and trade those assets 24/7.
Another key takeaway from the panel indicated that retail-driven product and demand is going to change the way participants think about what they are supposed to build and what they are supposed to offer. The innovations coming out of the DeFi space are expected to do so as well.
It is a fascinating time for market participants, with one in particular indicating a level and speed of innovation and adoption never seen before.
However, while the market aims for full steam ahead, with an eagerness to speed up adoption, others have raised concerns about the direction of travel. The market could be faced with multiple digital asset networks, multiple venues, and tokenisation platforms, leading to further fragmentation.
The market could face a world where traders may be forced to pick rails and institutions may be forced to pick blockchain technologies. This could ultimately lead to a requirement for a unified mechanism to avoid fragmenting liquidity.
Coming to an end, market participants were advised not to place bets on any blockchain solution today, because the blockchain world itself is evolving quite rapidly.
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ISLA Americas: A collateral state of mind 鈥� from equity-to-equity to tokenisation
ISLA Americas: A collateral state of mind 鈥� from equity-to-equity to tokenisation
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