Milan, Italy — October 24, 2026 — The Bank of Italy has delivered a significant message to the global banking industry: financial institutions should begin investing in digital assets and emerging financial technologies rather than wait for the uncertain future of blockchain-based banking to become clear.
The warning comes as central banks, commercial lenders and financial technology companies explore how tokenization, programmable money and digital settlement systems could transform the way money moves across international markets.
Speaking on October 23, Bank of Italy Deputy Governor Chiara Scotti urged lenders to pursue carefully managed technological investments, arguing that institutions that remain on the sidelines risk losing valuable opportunities to develop expertise and influence the future financial system.
The message is not an instruction for banks to speculate on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Instead, it emphasizes investment in digital financial infrastructure, tokenized bank deposits and technologies that could reshape traditional banking.
Banks face a critical decision as digital finance expands
Financial institutions worldwide face an increasingly complicated dilemma: invest in emerging technology before its commercial success is established, or delay spending until the market identifies a clear winner.
According to Reuters, Scotti acknowledged that waiting can help banks avoid unnecessary expenses in the short term. However, postponing innovation also creates risks by delaying the development of knowledge, capabilities and new business opportunities.
Her message reflects a larger strategic challenge facing traditional banks as financial services move toward increasingly digital and interconnected platforms.
Scotti recommended smaller, flexible investments that remain valuable across different technological outcomes.
Rather than committing enormous amounts of capital to a single blockchain network or digital asset system, banks could experiment with multiple approaches and gradually increase investment as the technology matures.
The strategy would allow financial institutions to manage uncertainty without surrendering their opportunity to shape the next generation of financial services.
Tokenization could transform how banks handle money
At the center of the debate is tokenization, a technology that digitally represents financial assets or bank deposits on programmable electronic networks, including systems using distributed ledger technology.
In practical terms, tokenization could allow certain transactions involving money, securities and other financial instruments to be processed through integrated digital platforms.
Potential applications include faster securities settlement, automated financial transactions, more efficient collateral management and streamlined cross-border payments.
Supporters believe the technology could reduce administrative complexity and improve efficiency across banking and capital markets.
However, its widespread adoption remains uncertain.
Banks still face questions about technology standards, interoperability, cybersecurity, regulation, liquidity and whether customers will adopt new digital financial infrastructure at sufficient scale.
Scotti emphasized that experimentation is important because institutions cannot fully understand how new technologies fit their business models without testing them.
Europe’s central banks are already building digital financial infrastructure
The Bank of Italy’s remarks come as Europe takes concrete steps toward a more technologically advanced financial system.
On September 21, 2026, the Eurosystem launched Pontes, an initiative designed to support the settlement of tokenized wholesale financial transactions using central bank money.
The European Central Bank said the system is intended to connect emerging tokenized financial markets with trusted central bank settlement infrastructure.
The initiative could help banks and financial institutions explore blockchain-related technologies while preserving the stability associated with central bank money.
Meanwhile, Europe’s longer-term Appia initiative is examining how a broader digital financial ecosystem could support tokenized assets, commercial bank deposits and financial market infrastructure.
These efforts illustrate that digital finance is no longer confined to cryptocurrency businesses or technology startups.
Major financial institutions and central banks are actively developing the infrastructure that could support future financial markets.
Global financial authorities see opportunities — and risks
The Bank for International Settlements has also highlighted the potential of tokenization to modernize the financial system.
In its 2025 Annual Economic Report, the BIS outlined a possible financial architecture combining tokenized central bank reserves, commercial bank money and government bonds.
Such a system could make payments and securities transactions more efficient while retaining the safeguards of regulated banking.
However, international financial authorities have also warned about the risks associated with privately issued digital assets, including certain stablecoins.
These concerns reinforce the distinction between investing in regulated tokenized financial infrastructure and taking speculative positions in volatile cryptocurrencies.
For traditional banks, the challenge is to adopt useful technological advances without compromising financial stability, consumer confidence or regulatory compliance.
Could banks lose their influence over the future of money?
One of the most important issues raised by Scotti involves the future role of commercial banks as issuers of private money.
Today, commercial banks play a central role in the monetary system by accepting deposits, extending credit and facilitating payments.
If financial transactions increasingly move to tokenized networks, banks will need to ensure that their services and deposits can function within the new digital environment.
Otherwise, competing financial platforms could gain greater influence over payment systems and transaction infrastructure.
This does not mean traditional banking is about to disappear.
Instead, the concern is that banks that fail to adapt could find themselves operating within systems largely designed by competitors.
By investing early in adaptable technology, institutions may have a better opportunity to influence the standards, infrastructure and business models used in future digital financial markets.
What this could mean for Asian banks and financial markets
Although Scotti’s remarks focused on the banking industry’s broader technological transition, the implications extend beyond Italy and Europe.
Asian financial institutions are also navigating the expansion of digital payments, blockchain infrastructure and emerging tokenization models.
For banks in the Philippines and across Southeast Asia, developments in Europe could provide lessons on balancing financial innovation with oversight, customer protection and operational resilience.
Potential opportunities include more efficient international payments, improved financial-market settlement and new digital banking services.
However, realizing those benefits would require investment, technical expertise, regulatory coordination and strong security controls.
The adoption of tokenized deposits or other digital financial instruments should not be confused with an official endorsement of speculative cryptocurrency investments.
The bigger picture: a new chapter in global banking
The Bank of Italy’s latest message reflects a growing recognition that digital transformation involves more than upgrading banking applications or introducing faster online payments.
It could eventually reshape the infrastructure through which money, credit and financial assets are issued, transferred and settled.
Yet the future remains highly uncertain.
Several competing technologies could coexist, and some may fail to achieve the scale needed for mainstream adoption.
For that reason, Scotti’s approach emphasizes flexibility, gradual investment and institutional learning rather than aggressive technological bets.
The central question is no longer simply whether banks should explore digital finance — but whether institutions that wait too long will still have a meaningful role in shaping it.
As central banks accelerate experimentation with tokenized financial systems, traditional lenders face a consequential choice: invest carefully in the future of banking today, or risk finding that tomorrow’s financial infrastructure has been built without them.
