Tokenisation and the reconfiguration of capital market infrastructure : T+0 settlement, mathematical trust, and multi-currency yield curves

Tokenisation is increasingly influencing the structure of monetary and capital market infrastructure by enabling new forms of settlement, asset representation, and market accessibility. This paper examines how the synchronisation of programmable forms of tokenised money and tokenised yield-bearing assets alters the dynamics of capital utilisation by enabling broader participation in financial markets. As a result, this new infrastructure creates new distribution channels and revenue models for financial institutions. Within such a framework, both the payment leg and the asset leg of a transaction can interact on a shared infrastructure, enabling atomic delivery-versus-payment (DvP) settlement. On the payment side, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) represent programmable forms of money capable of near-instant settlement and more efficient value transfer. On the asset side, tokenised government securities and tokenised money market funds (TMMFs) enable real-world assets (RWAs) to be represented in a form that can be efficiently accessed, mobilised, and utilised according to predefined rules. The paper identifies three mechanisms through which tokenisation affects capital efficiency: settlement compression through near T+0 DvP; the redefinition of trust via deterministic execution and shared ledgers; and the restructuring of market access through programmable distribution. Together, these mechanisms reduce settlement latency, improve collateral mobility, and enable more dynamic participation in financial markets. The paper further argues that programmable financial infrastructure may extend digital asset markets beyond a US dollar (USD)-centric model by enabling open-network access to multi-currency liquidity and domestic funding environments. In particular, the emergence of Euro (EUR), Hong Kong dollar (HKD) and Renminbi (RMB)-denominated TMMFs suggests the gradual development of more regionally diversified on-chain liquidity pools and broader participation in previously less-accessible financial markets through open blockchain networks. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.