LMAX CEO: Why Everything Will Be Tokenized

Summary

David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Group, argues that tokenization will transform capital markets as profoundly as derivatives did, driving digital assets toward 10% of traditional finance by decade's end. He details how institutional enablement is nearly complete, with banks and asset managers preparing to trade digital assets once regulatory clarity arrives. The conversation covers stablecoins, collateral mobility, perpetuals, prediction markets, and LMAX's cross-asset institutional strategy.

• LMAX Group operates foreign exchange, brokerage, and a crypto institutional exchange, positioning for a cross-asset future.
• Stablecoins and tokenized money are seen as the underpin for all capital markets, merging traditional and crypto rails.
• Institutional adoption is advancing: 60% of top global banks plan to trade digital assets by end-2027, and custody/market access are largely ready.
• Collateral mobility is the key use case; 24/7 trading and instant settlement are driving demand for digital assets.
• Tokenization is expected to follow the S-curve adoption pattern of derivatives, eventually tokenizing all securities.
• Perpetual swaps are exploding in crypto, with LMAX launching gold, Bitcoin, and Ethereum perps, and RWAs next.
• Regulatory clarity remains the main gate for the wall of institutional money, with the Clarity Act seen as a potential catalyst.
• Prediction markets are interesting but face regulatory uncertainty; LMAX is monitoring but not launching them in 2026.