IMF warns of volatility in tokenized stocks and global economic risks

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released its latest Global Financial Stability Report, highlighting significant risks within the emerging tokenized asset market and the broader global economy. The IMF estimates the tokenized real-world asset market at approximately $65 billion, with tokenized stocks accounting for about $2.3 billion. While these assets offer benefits like 24/7 trading and fractional ownership, the IMF found that tokenized stocks are roughly 1.5 times more volatile than traditional shares and suffer from significantly lower liquidity.

Beyond tokenization, the IMF warns of a "bifurcated" global economy. While AI-driven investment is boosting growth in certain regions, particularly in Asia, other nations face economic strain due to energy supply shocks and high fuel costs linked to conflicts in the Middle East. The Fund projects global growth to slow to 3.1% in 2026, noting that economic gains are increasingly concentrated in a small number of countries.

Additional systemic risks identified include potential market corrections in the artificial intelligence sector, rising sovereign bond yields, and cyberattacks. The IMF cautioned that high leverage in AI-related investments and the automated nature of liquidation mechanisms in tokenized instruments could amplify financial stress and trigger synchronized selling during market downturns.