Digitalisation and The Evolution of Virtual Assets

What are the key benefits of digitisation and which asset classes are making most progress? Which types of investors are most interested and how is the infrastructure and technology to support the digitalisation of real-world assets (RWA) developing?

Digitalisation, or tokenisation, in the asset management industry is picking up pace and is set to transform the traditional finance world. This research provides insights from investors, fund managers, virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and fund directors. It also includes contributions from the Government of Jersey, Jersey Financial Services Commission and Digital Jersey.

23 April 2024

IFI Global Whitepaper

This research from IFI Global, supported by Jersey Finance, explores the evolution of virtual assets, also known as digital assets, and the role of fund domiciles in supporting their growth and success.

Investment management firms, including BlackRock, JP Morgan and UBS, have announced their first tokenisation projects recently and a joint report by Northern Trust and HSBC in 2023 estimated that 5% to 10% of all assets would be digitalised by 2030.

The benefits of tokenisation include:

Access to more investors
Better distribution opportunities
Improved automation of the investing process
Better liquidity
Greater transparency
Faster transaction speeds

Jersey’s activity in the virtual assets space is growing rapidly, thanks to its world-class digital infrastructure, renowned regulatory framework and broad range of corporate vehicles. Our Island has an established approach for considering applications involving token-generating events and is very much open for business.

Expand your knowledge by downloading this important research on virtual assets.

Jersey is fortunate to benefit from a symbiosis between its industry, Government and regulator, where there is a collective desire to assimilate all available information to form a full picture so we can grasp the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls.
Elliot RefsonHead of Funds, Jersey Finance

Addendum – Digitisation Terminology

In 2023, Jersey adopted the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) definition of ‘Virtual Assets’ (VAs) and ‘Virtual Asset Service Providers’ (VASPs), which ensured that VASPs were brought within scope of our Anti Money Laundering (AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), and countering proliferation financing (CPF) regulation and this terminology is therefore used throughout the report. Other commentators use alternative definitions and language, including digital assets (and in some cases crypto assets). The term digital assets has been used on this page to ensure that the content is accessible to all.