24/7 Tokenized Finance: How Franklin Templeton and SWIFT Are Redefining Settlement Infrastructure

The financial world is experiencing a profound shift toward continuous settlement. At Consensus Hong Kong 2026 this year, executives from Franklin Templeton, SWIFT and Ledger outlined how tokenized assets are transitioning from experimental pilots into operational infrastructure capable of functioning around the clock. The movement reflects a broader institutional consensus: the future of finance runs 24/7, eliminating the delays and cutoff times that have defined traditional markets for decades.

Continuous Settlement Emerges from Institutional Innovation

Franklin Templeton’s vision centers on making traditional financial instruments work better within blockchain environments. Chetan Karkhanis explained that tokenization transforms familiar products by making them “cheaper, better and faster” through direct on-chain distribution. The firm is targeting the roughly $10 trillion money market fund sector—composed of short-term U.S. Treasuries and repurchase agreements—as its primary avenue for blockchain integration.

By issuing fund shares directly on public blockchains, Franklin Templeton aims to enable continuous liquidity access. Investors could theoretically manage these holdings through self-custody wallets or exchange platforms at any time, without waiting for market reopening windows. The operational benefits extend beyond user experience: moving shares on-chain could reduce traditional fees that typically range from five to 15 basis points, lowering barriers to participation.

Building the Technical Backbone: Blockchain, Deposits and Digital Assets

SWIFT’s approach complements this institutional push. Devendra Verma of SWIFT’s digital assets unit explained that the organization is developing a blockchain coordination layer designed to link central bank digital currencies, tokenized bank deposits and other regulated digital assets into a unified infrastructure.

The model preserves existing banking relationships while modernizing them. Banks continue holding fiat deposits on their balance sheets, but simultaneously issue corresponding tokens to represent those balances on blockchain networks. This dual-layer approach maintains regulatory clarity while enabling around-the-clock settlement capabilities. Instead of payments reaching beneficiaries within minutes during banking hours, SWIFT’s framework aims to eliminate cutoff times and holiday delays entirely—enabling settlement to flow continuously.

SWIFT’s global reach—connecting more than 11,500 financial institutions—positions the network as the natural hub for this integration. The organization is working to coordinate previously fragmented settlement processes, creating the technical plumbing necessary for a 24-hour financial ecosystem.

Ledger’s Jean-François Rochet emphasized that institutional key management remains a critical frontier, one that involves cultural and organizational challenges alongside technical implementation.

From Billions to Trillions: The Scale Challenge Ahead

Despite this institutional momentum, tokenized assets remain a microscopic fraction of global wealth. As of early 2026, approximately $300 billion in stablecoins and roughly $40 billion in tokenized Treasuries and other real-world assets exist on-chain. Against a global wealth backdrop exceeding $200 trillion, these figures illustrate how nascent the sector remains.

Market adoption faces structural hurdles. Regulation stands foremost—Devendra Verma emphasized that institutions require consistent standards governing accounting treatment, compliance frameworks and balance sheet reporting before scaling significantly. The absence of these standards creates friction for traditional finance institutions considering migration.

Regulation, Security and the Future of Hybrid Finance

Security architecture and governance models present additional complexities. As Jean-François Rochet noted, institutional custody and key management remain as much cultural challenges as technical problems—organizations must develop new operational disciplines aligned with blockchain infrastructure.

Notably, speakers converged on a shared prediction: the most likely outcome is a hybrid financial system rather than wholesale displacement of traditional institutions. Decentralized access and programmability may expand significantly, but traditional financial intermediaries will persist—provided they successfully redefine their roles within more transparent, automated and continuously-operating market infrastructure. The institutions that adapt will thrive; those that resist the 24/7 paradigm risk obsolescence.