BNM governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said the central bank viewed tokenisation – the representation of financial assets on a programmable platform such as a blockchain network – as a promising innovation in the financial sector with potential implications beyond capital markets.

“Our focus is on exploring the potential benefits and implications of tokenising real assets in financial services, particularly use cases that bring tangible benefits to the economy,” Bernama quoted him as saying.

Rasheed said the discussion paper on asset tokenisation would outline BNM’s proposed collaborative approach, provide guidance on developing use cases, and set out safeguards to support responsible exploration initiatives.

“What is important is ensuring that tokenisation delivers real value to the economy, the use cases meaningfully support economic activity with transparent and reliable information, and that there are adequate protections for users and customers.

“It is about understanding what end-users require as we explore tokenisation,” he said.

Earlier this month, Rasheed announced plans to release an exposure draft and a discussion paper on asset tokenisation by year-end.

This followed the release of a discussion paper on artificial intelligence (AI), outlining the central bank’s regulatory and developmental approach, including priority areas for industry-led collaboration and responsible AI adoption in financial services.