Bank Negara Malaysia unveiled a three-year roadmap aimed at developing and testing real-world asset (RWA) tokenization within the country’s financial sector.
Over the next three years, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) plans to conduct a series of pilot projects focused on exploring the practical applications of tokenization in SME financing, Islamic financial products, green finance, and 24/7 cross-border payments.
As part of the roadmap, an Asset Tokenization Industry Working Group (IWG) will be established, co-chaired by BNM and the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). The group will focus on researching industry use cases, sharing insights, and identifying regulatory challenges.
The initiative will be launched and implemented under the Digital Asset Innovation Hub (DAIH), a regulatory sandbox established in June 2025 to promote Malaysia’s digital economy and FinTech industry.
BNM clarified that the initiative doesn’t involve cryptocurrencies. It’ll solely examine the potential of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. Priority areas include:
- expanding SME access to financing through tokenized invoices and credit claims;
- implementing atomic settlements via smart contracts;
- exploring ways to automate and accelerate Shariah-compliant transactions, and enhance the liquidity of Islamic instruments through tokenization;
- using tokens to improve the transparency of ESG instruments;
- employing tokenized assets and liabilities for instant settlements between exporters and importers outside regular banking hours;
- introducing tokenized deposits and stablecoins denominated in the Malaysian ringgit;
- researching the integration of wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Public consultation on the roadmap and submissions from industry participants will remain open until March 1, 2026.
Malaysia aims to join a growing number of Asian regulators exploring the potential of asset tokenization. Among the most active are the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) through Project Guardian and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) under its Fintech 2030 strategy.
By the end of 2024, the global RWA tokenization market exceeded $13 billion, nearly doubling in Q1 2025. Analysts predict the market could grow 50-fold by 2030.
