The topU.S. derivatives regulator made one of the strongest endorsements yet ofblockchain-based financial infrastructure, telling industry executives thattokenized markets have already arrived and will define the future of trading."Thepublic has spoken: tokenized markets are here, and they are the future,"Caroline Pham, actingchairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said during a keynoteaddress at the Futures Industry Association's annual conference in Chicago.CFTC Chief DeclaresTokenized Markets "the Future" Pham's commentscame as the CFTC races to complete what it calls a "Crypto Sprint," a12-month initiative to integrate tokenized collateral, including stablecoins,into the agency's regulatory framework for derivatives markets. The effort aimsto address what Pham has long characterized as the biggest practical use casefor blockchain technology in traditional finance."Foryears I have said that collateral management is the 'killer app' forstablecoins in markets," Pham told the audience, referencing theoperational bottlenecks created when global markets operate around the clockbut traditional banking infrastructure does not.Earlier, apositive view on tokenized securities wasexpressed by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who said at the end ofSeptember that she is willing to work with companies seeking to tokenizeassets."Weare willing to work with people who want to tokenize, we urge them to come talkto us," Peirce said during a virtual appearance at the Digital AssetsSummit in Singapore.Forexample, stock futures offered by the crypto exchange Bitget, which are basedon tokenized equities, doubled their volume within two weeks, reaching$1 billion. It clearly shows the current hype over tokenized assets amongretail traders.Banks Close While MarketsRunTheregulatory push centers on a timing mismatch that has become more acute asfutures and derivatives trading extends into evening and weekend hours.Traditional bank payment systems remain offline during those periods, creatingwhat market participants describe as avoidable settlement risk and inefficientuse of capital.Blockchain-basedsettlement could allow collateral to move between counterparties at any hour,eliminating delays that currently tie up billions of dollars in marginaccounts. The CFTC expects to issue formal guidance on tokenized collateral byyear-end, with major clearinghouses potentially accepting the new forms ofmargin as early as the first or second quarter of 2026.Robinhoodis among the platforms beginningto offer 24/7 market access. For now, this applies only to event-basedcontracts, but there are ambitions to expand the model to other markets in thefuture.BoerseStuttgart’s digital exchange, BX Digital, has also announced thepossibility of introducing 24/7 stock trading through tokenization.Theinitiative builds on recommendations from the agency's Global Markets AdvisoryCommittee, which concluded last year that tokenizationrepresents "simply another technological wrapper for existing assets"rather than a fundamental reimagining of market structure.New RevolutionPham drewparallels between today's blockchain moment and the electronification ofsecurities markets in the 1970s and 1980s, arguing both representinfrastructure upgrades rather than speculative ventures."Blockchaintechnology and the tokenization of financial instruments are not merely newtools; they represent a structural modernization of the market's underlyinginfrastructure," she said. "Justas electronic trading shifted us from paper tickets to integrated, data-richenvironments, distributed ledgers shift us from siloed recordkeeping to shared,programmable, and verifiable systems of value."Stablecoins Enter theRegulatory PerimeterThe CFTC'sapproach relies heavily on recently passed legislation that created the firstfederal regulatory framework for stablecoins, dollar-backed digital tokensdesigned to maintain a one-to-one value with U.S. currency. The GENIUS Act,signed into law earlier this year, established strict requirements for issuersand explicitly authorized the use of qualifying stablecoins as collateral atCFTC-regulated clearinghouses.Phamindicated the agency is now considering whether those "qualified paymentstablecoins" should be treated as cash equivalents for margin purposes,which would affect how much cushion clearinghouses require when accepting them.The agency is also evaluating whether to allow futures commission merchants andclearinghouses to invest customer funds in stablecoins, subject toconcentration limits.Separately,Pham said tokenized money market funds represent a "fast-follower usecase" that would convert daily net asset value shares intoblockchain-based instruments capable of moving between custodians around theclock. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.