Major banks, crypto exchanges, and tech companies expand tokenization plans with stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and blockchain-powered financial services.
The global finance industry moved further toward tokenization this week. Major banks, crypto companies, and technology companies unveiled new blockchain projects. These developments represent increasing institutional interest in the areas of stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and digital assets. As a result, the traditional finance system and crypto infrastructure are slowly merging.
Barclays Explores Stablecoins and Tokenized Deposits
First, Barclays increased the pace of its foray into blockchain banking services. According to Bloomberg, the bank is exploring the technology for digital assets for payments and deposits. The project’s purpose is to help with the stablecoin transactions and tokenized banking infrastructure.
Finance is entering its tokenized era.
Leading institutions across legacy finance, fintech, tech, and crypto all made major moves over the past week.
Weekly tokenization roundup ↓
1️⃣ Barclays accelerates push into stablecoins and tokenized deposits
According to Bloomberg,… pic.twitter.com/0aeuwIMHG6
— Ondo Finance (@OndoFinance) March 1, 2026
Furthermore, Barclays is said to have sent requests to technology suppliers for blockchain solutions. The bank wants to begin to work with selected partners as early as April 2026. However, the details of the initiative have not been publicly confirmed by Barclays.
Meanwhile, traditional banks have been experimenting with blockchain technology for a few years. According to PYMNTS, numerous institutions around the world introduced pilot projects to test tokenized banking systems. These projects demonstrate blockchain’s potential to enhance the speed and transparency of settlement.
In addition, a tokenized deposit network backed by five banks and Cari Network could go live later this year, in 2026. The platform is led by former U.S. Comptroller, Gene Ludwig. If it proves successful, it could introduce blockchain-based deposit systems to mainstream banking customers.
Coinbase Expands Into Stock Trading and Tokenized Equities
Next, Coinbase went beyond crypto trading with its financial services. The company launched 24/5 stock and ETF trading for customers based in the United States. This feature enables investors to trade stocks and traditional equities as well as cryptocurrencies.
Importantly, the platform has zero commission stock trading features and fractional shares. Therefore, users can purchase small size units of expensive stocks. The service includes leading U.S. equities at first and thousands of additional assets in the future.
The system works based on a partnership with Apex Fintech Solutions. Apex offers clearing and custody services, as well as their trade execution services. As a result, Coinbase users can pay for trades on the spot using USD, or the stablecoin, USD Coin.
Furthermore, Coinbase is planning on launching tokenized stocks via a project called Coinbase Tokenize. This system could enable investors all over the world to trade tokenized equities on blockchain networks. Additionally, traders can use tokenized shares as on-chain collateral for transactions of digital assets.
Meanwhile, Coinbase also plans to expand stock perpetual trading outside the US. This product would provide world traders the ability to have around-the-clock exposure to American equities.
UK Regulator Tests Stablecoin Projects With Revolut
Regulatory developments influenced the tokenization industry this week as well. Financial Conduct Authority announces new stablecoin testing under regulatory sandbox. The initiative gives companies the opportunity to play around with blockchain payment systems under supervision.
Among participating firms includes a fintech company called Revolut. The sandbox allows selected firms to test the services offered by stablecoins in a real-world environment. However, the regulators do have safeguards in place to ensure that financial stability and consumer interests are protected.
According to the FCA, about 20 companies applied to join the testing program. In the end, four firms were chosen for their ideas for the applications of stablecoins. These include payments, crypto trading and wholesale financial settlement.
Meanwhile, the FCA has almost finished consultations on a more general regulatory framework for cryptoassets. The regulator is hoping to issue official policy statements later in 2026. Therefore, the tests by the sandbox could affect the future regulations of stablecoins in the United Kingdom.
Meta Plans Stablecoin Payments for Billions of Users
Technology firms are also joining the stablecoin sector. Meta Platforms, headed by Mark Zuckerberg, aims to introduce payments using stablecoin and a new crypto wallet.
Meta is planning on launching these services in the second half of 2026. The company will probably have to partner with a third-party provider to handle stablecoin payment infrastructure. However, the integration process is still being developed.
Importantly, Meta is the owner of a number of giant social platforms. These include Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. Combined, these services reach over 3 billion users across the world.
As a result, stablecoin payments within these apps have the potential to dramatically increase digital asset adoption. Users may ultimately be able to transfer payments via messaging platforms using blockchain-based tokens.
Binance and Ondo Bring Tokenized Stocks to Global Users
Meanwhile, a tokenized securities market also grew. Ondo Finance has partnered with Binance to bring tokenized stocks of the USA through Binance Alpha.
The launch first features 10 tokenized assets of major companies. These include Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Tesla, and Meta Platforms.
Additionally, tokenized exposure to major ETFs such as Invesco QQQ Trust is also included. These assets enable the users to have blockchain based access to traditional securities markets.
The integration provides hundreds of millions of Binance users exposure to tokenized financial assets. Therefore, the partnership is one of the biggest expansions of tokenized securities so far.
Overall, the past week was a powerful one for tokenized finances. Banks, regulators, crypto platforms and technology companies are all increasingly adopting blockchain infrastructure. As these initiatives move forward, the process of tokenization has the potential to transform payments, trading, and financial markets around the world.