The adoption of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and digital assets is accelerating across global financial markets, with an increasing number of firms moving from pilot projects to live deployments. The findings come from the sixth annual ‘DLT in the Real World’ report from global fintech leader Broadridge, in collaboration with The ValueExchange, ISSA, Accenture, and Taurus.

The 2025 study, which draws on insights from investors, banks, brokers, and market operators worldwide, highlights a significant shift in priorities, particularly on the buy-side, where both DLT and digital assets are gaining operational momentum.

“Digital asset adoption is no longer theoretical but operational. After five years of tracking this space, we are at a clear inflection point,” said Horacio Barakat, head of digital innovation at Broadridge. “DLT adoption continues to accelerate, and an increasing number of firms are transitioning from pilot projects to live deployments. We are also seeing momentum move to the buy-side, as well as expanding use cases across issuance and custody.”

A surge in live DLT projects

The report reveals that over a third (36 per cent) of respondents now have active DLT initiatives, with live industry participation having increased by 800 per cent since 2020. North America is currently leading in adoption, with 50 per cent of firms in the region running live DLT or digital asset projects—a 72 per cent increase from the previous year. However, European booking centres remain a central hub for these initiatives, with 50 per cent of projects still domiciled in Europe.

The APAC region is also seeing continued development, with 43 per cent of respondents now live with DLT and digital assets.

Digital asset adoption is accelerating even more rapidly, with growth rates of two to four times annually. Projects now span a range of asset classes, including tokenised funds, money market instruments, stablecoins, and bonds. The report also notes that 45 per cent of banks issued a digital asset in the last 12 months.

Buy-side engagement and clear business benefits

A key driver of this innovation is growing engagement from the buy-side. Sixty-one per cent of buy-side firms are now involved in proof-of-concepts, pilots, or live digital asset initiatives. The primary motivations for adopting these new technologies are to improve intraday liquidity (cited by 85 per cent of respondents), reduce transaction costs (79 per cent), and minimise failed payments (71 per cent).

Budgets for DLT and digital asset projects continue to rise, with funding for DLT initiatives having tripled since 2020. The average annual spend on digital assets reached $2.2million in 2025, while DLT investments averaged $1.8million.

Despite the progress, firms still face challenges, including limited secondary market liquidity and the need for greater legal and accounting clarity. However, nearly half of the firms surveyed indicated that political and market conditions in 2025 have accelerated their adoption of these technologies.

Looking ahead, the report expects that more organisations will move from pilots to fully integrated operations in 2026, leveraging DLT infrastructure to support higher transaction volumes and faster liquidity. Broadridge’s own Distributed Ledger Repo platform is an example of this trend, having processed over $280billion in average daily repo transactions in August, up from $45billion a year ago.