| CBI Tokenisation regulation plan in train on back of early success and industry feedback |
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The Central Bank of Ireland is currently assessing the feedback from a Public Consultation as it formulates an updated new strategy that will be decisive for the future of IFS in Ireland through to the 2030s.
The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI)’s approach on tokenisation has already received positive feedback from industry commentators, for example CEO of US Bank, Declan Lynch, writing in the 2026 Finance Dublin Yearbook.
But there is no room for complacency - for example, Dubai is a hungry competitor. Launching Dubai International Financial Centre’s second report in its 2026 Future of Finance series on June 18th H.E Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer at DIFC Authority, said “as the global banking industry undergoes its most significant transformation in nearly two decades, institutions must embrace innovation, resilience and adaptability to thrive in a rapidly evolving financial landscape shaped by AI, digital assets and shifting global markets”.
It says “banks moving early and decisively will not only defend profitability but unlock new client groups, new regions and frontier asset classes. In doing so, they position themselves to capture a larger share of global finance”. “DIFC is integrating intelligence into regulatory processes and market infrastructure, enabling firms to build, test and scale AI-driven financial services.”
In the tokenisation area Ireland is already well advanced, one recent prime example being the ‘Citi Token Services (CTS) for Cash’ platform, which is an award winning deal in the Finance Dublin Deals of the Year Awards 2026 (see page 28).
In establishing this EU-wide platform the degree of innovation involved in integrating a regulated EU credit institution (Citi in Ireland) into a tokenised liquidity infrastructure is significant.
Citi Token Services had already received the American Banker “Innovation of the Year – On‑Chain Finance” award in May 2025. The extension of this capability to the EU market adapts and enhances the solution to operate in what one of its lead advisors (McCann Fitzgerald) described as one of the world’s most demanding regulatory environments. In doing so, it established a model for institutional digital asset deployment, setting a benchmark not only for Citi but for the market.
The roll-out of CTS in the EU demonstrates the usability of Ireland’s legal and regulatory framework for tokenisation and the work being undertaken at the CBI has the potential to position the jurisdiction at the vanguard of tokenised regulated financial services.
The Finance Dublin awarded deal is expected to accelerate the adoption of regulated tokenisation technologies in mainstream banking, strengthening Ireland’s position as an attractive jurisdiction for digital finance innovation.
Crucially it also demonstrates how blockchain‑based financial market infrastructure is delivering cutting edge economic and operational benefits within a robust regulatory framework. It is expected to influence how other global financial institutions structure similar digital asset offerings. |
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