OCC to Host Symposium on the Tokenization of Real-World Assets and Liabilities

WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) will host a symposium on tokenization at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., on February 8, 2024.

The symposium will promote public discussion of the potential for the tokenization of real-world financial assets and liabilities to improve the efficiency and robustness of financial settlements, with a particular focus on the foundations needed to ensure responsible innovation.

“There is an emerging divide between crypto and the tokenization of real-world assets and liabilities,” said Acting Comptroller Michael J. Hsu. “Crypto remains driven by the promise of speculative gains, continues to be marked by rampant scams, fraud, and hacks, and struggles to comply with anti-money laundering rules. By contrast, tokenization is driven by solving real-world settlement problems and can easily be developed in a safe and sound manner and fully compliant with anti-money laundering rules. I look forward to a fulsome discussion on these topics with a range of experts in the field.”

The symposium is expected to include keynote remarks from Hyun Song Shin, Economic Adviser and Head of Research at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), panel presentations to explore the legal foundations for tokens, tokenization use cases, and risk management and control considerations. Discussions about legal and economic research on tokenization are also planned.

The symposium will be open to the public and available for viewing via livestream. Information about the symposium agenda, registration, and how to participate via livestream will be announced and posted to the OCC website later this year.