Australia risks becoming a “land of missed opportunity” unless it seizes the moment to embrace asset tokenisation, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Chair Joe Longo warned in a keynote address at the National Press Club on Nov. 5. Longo urged policymakers, market operators and firms to act now to build the legal and market infrastructure that would let tokenised markets grow safely in Australia.
Regulators: act now or fall behind
In a broad speech on the future of Australia’s capital markets, Longo said distributed ledger technology and asset tokenisation could “fundamentally transform our capital markets” much as the CHESS electronic settlement system once did — but only if Australia chooses to adapt. “Seize the opportunity or be left behind,” he told the audience, adding that the country faces “a choice — innovate or stagnate.”
Longo pointed to international momentum — citing plans by major global players such as J.P. Morgan and Nasdaq to expand tokenised products and trading — and warned that other jurisdictions are already courting the capital Australia should be competing for.
Practical steps and concerns
Longo said ASIC has already begun work on evolving Australia’s capital markets and released a report that lays out options for modernising listing frameworks, trading platforms and post-trade infrastructure. The regulator is also engaging with industry pilots — including Project Acacia, an RBA-linked initiative exploring tokenisation in debt markets — as examples of what could be scaled up.
But he warned that uptake in Australia is uneven. ASIC’s own tokenisation survey, Longo said, showed a lack of engagement from a sizeable portion of market participants: around half of the market declined to take part or meet with ASIC, and only about one-third provided detailed feedback. That, he said, points to complacency among some incumbents and risks Australia losing ground to more proactive jurisdictions.
Why tokenisation matters — and the risks
According to Longo, tokenisation can democratise access to formerly illiquid or institution-only asset classes by breaking assets into smaller units and enabling faster, more efficient settlement — for example, what he described as the prospect of “atomic settlement” where cash and asset exchange occurs simultaneously on a ledger. He noted real-world precedents such as the World Bank’s “bond-i” issuance in Sydney and growing pilot programmes overseas.
At the same time Longo stressed the need to manage risks: private markets in Australia have expanded rapidly and already show issues around transparency, fee structures and liquidity stress-testing. For tokenisation to be a force for broader market improvement, the regulator said, it must be built on strong disclosure, investor protections and appropriate law and licensing arrangements.
Market and industry reaction
Australian and international outlets reported Longo’s address and conveyed the same central warning: Australia must move deliberately to set foundations and guardrails for tokenised markets or risk being overtaken by jurisdictions that are already building infrastructure and welcoming tokenised issuance. Industry participants — from fintechs pioneering pilot programs to major market operators — are watching closely as policymakers consider legislative and regulatory responses.
Bottom line
Joe Longo’s National Press Club speech framed tokenisation not as a speculative novelty but as a structural shift that could reshape capital formation, market access and settlement efficiency. His message to Australia’s financial community was blunt: engage, experiment and build the legal and market foundations now — or risk ceding economic opportunity to more agile markets overseas.
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