Tokenized Stock Risks: IMF Volatility Warning

IMF finds tokenized stocks are 1.5x more volatile and less liquid than traditional shares, while tokenized commodities expand into silver, gold lending and oil.

The International Monetary Fund has put tokenized equities under the microscope in its latest Global Financial Stability Report, and the findings on tokenized stock risks should give traders pause. Tokenized U.S. stocks offer round-the-clock trading and fractional ownership, but the IMF found they are roughly 1.5 times as volatile as conventional shares and significantly less liquid. Meanwhile, the tokenized commodities sector is broadening well beyond gold, with new products targeting silver leases and crude oil inventory.

What happened

Titled Scaling Tokenization: New efficiencies and new vulnerabilities, the IMF report looked at the five most heavily traded tokenized U.S. equities. Among them were Tesla (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA) and Alphabet (GOOG), as well as index-based products linked to the Nasdaq 100. The study depicts a market expanding rapidly yet still fragile in ways that matter to anyone holding or trading these tokens.

Turning to commodities, CoinGecko figures show the tokenized commodities market cap hit $5.55 billion at the close of March 2026, climbing from $1.43 billion at the beginning of 2025. Gold-backed tokens issued by Paxos and Tether fueled nearly 90% of that expansion, but attention is now shifting toward silver and oil. Theo rolled out a tokenized silver product supported by $40 million in active leases, and EnSub moved its WTIC token from Ethereum to Solana on Oct. 2, with each token standing for one barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude backed by verified physical inventory.

Why tokenized stock risks matter for traders

The IMF data highlights several structural issues that ordinary investors ought to grasp. Over half of tokenized stock trading took place outside regular U.S. market hours, and roughly 80% of trades were for less than one share. This indicates the tokens are being used for speculation and fractional access rather than as direct replacements for traditional brokerage accounts.

The volatility gap stands out as the primary concern among tokenized stock risks. Tokenized stocks showed roughly 1.5 times the volatility of equivalent shares on traditional venues, and their liquidity is significantly thinner. For traders, that translates into wider spreads and more severe price swings, particularly in overnight sessions when traditional markets are shut.

A counterpoint exists: over 85% of the overnight movement in tokenized shares showed up in their traditional counterparts within five minutes of U.S. markets opening. So although tokenized prices may swing sharply overnight, they do not seem entirely disconnected from the underlying equities. Still, that five-minute convergence window leaves room for arbitrage and liquidation cascades in the interim.

Market reaction and adoption

The market for tokenized equities is still modest in size. As of July 31, tokenized stocks made up about $2.3 billion of the $65 billion tokenized real-world asset sector. Set against the roughly $160 trillion in global equity market capitalization for 2025 reported by SIFMA, tokenized shares amount to a rounding error. Even so, more players keep joining: Bullish (BLSH) rolled out tokenized equity trading in August, while OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, submitted plans for a venue that would allow round-the-clock trading of tokenized U.S. shares. Tokenized stock trading is already available through Coinbase Global (COIN), Kraken, Binance and Robinhood Markets (HOOD).

According to the IMF, the risks remain modest for the very reason that tokenized markets are still small. That cuts both ways: it caps systemic danger at present, but it also means the safeguards have yet to be tested. The report urged that legal rules governing ownership, liquidity protections, connections between systems and settlement arrangements be put in place before the market expands much further.

Tokenized commodities: the next frontier

The commodity token sector is shifting away from plain gold exposure toward structures that generate income. Paxos Labs' PAXGy token is backed by PAX Gold (PAXG), with reserves lent out to institutional borrowers. At the time of writing, PAXG was priced at $4,196.66. Theo's thSLVR product distributes income earned from institutional silver leases to holders while keeping exposure to the metal's price.

Theo Chief Investment Officer Iggy Ioppe called silver the obvious second choice behind gold, pointing to industrial demand and a mature leasing market, while cautioning that higher volatility and a scarcer supply of metal available for lease make the opportunity more complicated. Ioppe added that storage and transport requirements make income-producing energy tokens more difficult to construct. EnSub co-founder and CEO JP Thieriot stressed that commodities that are constantly moving require verifiable inventory along with workable custody and settlement.

Analyst projections referenced in the research envision tokenized commodities climbing to tens of billions within five years and surpassing $100 billion within ten. EnSub's Thieriot predicted that oil tokens might account for a quarter of the oil market within 10 years. Such figures are ambitious projections rather than certainties, and they hinge on resolving custody, legal and infrastructure hurdles that are still outstanding.

What to watch next

Liquidity depth: Whether tokenized equity venues can attract enough market makers to narrow spreads and reduce the volatility premium.
Regulatory clarity: The IMF's call for ownership rules and settlement safeguards could shape which platforms survive and which products are restricted.
Commodity expansion: Whether silver and oil tokens can replicate gold's traction, or whether operational complexity keeps them niche.
Overnight risk management: How platforms handle margin calls and liquidations when traditional markets are closed.

FAQ

What are tokenized stocks?

Tokenized stocks are blockchain-based tokens that represent ownership of, or exposure to, publicly traded equities. They can trade 24/7 and allow fractional ownership, but the IMF found they are about 1.5 times more volatile and significantly less liquid than traditional shares, which are key tokenized stock risks to understand.

Why did the IMF warn about tokenized equities?

Among the risks the IMF highlighted were automated margin calls, liquidations, collateral moving across platforms and around-the-clock trading, all of which could make a market shock harder to contain. It also pointed out that legal rules on ownership and settlement safeguards must be developed before the market grows much larger.

How does tokenized silver work?

Backed by $40 million in active leases, Theo's thSLVR product distributes income from institutional silver leases to holders while preserving exposure to the metal's price. It forms part of a wider buildout in tokenized commodities, a market that CoinGecko says reached a $5.55 billion market cap at the end of March 2026.

Tokenized Stock Risks: IMF Warns on Volatility