Financial markets have officially crossed the rubicon from digital experimentation to structural revolution. A landmark report released today by fintech leader Broadridge reveals that 2026 marks the beginning of the "Tokenization Era," characterized by a decisive pivot toward agentic AI and distributed ledger technology (DLT) as the new backbone of global liquidity.

The 6th Annual Digital Transformation & Next-Gen Technology Study paints a picture of an industry that has moved beyond the hype cycles of previous years. According to the data, 80% of financial institutions are now deploying generative or predictive AI in active operations—a staggering leap from just 31% in 2025. But the headline story isn't just about adoption; it's about the fundamental re-architecture of market infrastructure through tokenization and autonomous decision-making systems.

From Pilot to Production: The Agentic AI Revolution

While 2025 was the year of Generative AI experimentation, 2026 has emerged as the year of agentic AI—autonomous systems capable of executing complex workflows without constant human intervention. The study highlights that 26% of leading firms have already deployed agentic AI, with more than half of those implementations moving beyond pilot phases into full-scale production.

"AI proved the industry can modernize at speed," says Germán Soto Sanchez, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Broadridge. He notes that while AI drives immediate productivity, the integration of agentic capabilities is allowing firms to automate decision-making processes that were previously thought to require human oversight, from complex trade settlements to real-time compliance monitoring.

This shift is backed by significant capital. The report indicates that 57% of firms are making moderate-to-large investments specifically in agentic AI technologies. Unlike the passive chatbots of the early 2020s, these agents can reason, plan, and execute tasks across siloed systems, effectively acting as digital workers that bridge the gap between legacy infrastructure and modern demands.

Tokenization: Re-Architecting Global Markets

Perhaps the most profound finding in the 2026 study is the institutional consensus on tokenization. No longer viewed merely as a vehicle for cryptocurrencies, DLT is now recognized as the inevitable future of financial market infrastructure. The study reveals that a majority of institutions view tokenization not as a near-term replacement for existing systems, but as a long-term "structural evolution" that will run in parallel before eventually superseding legacy frameworks.

Market participants project that significant portions of major asset classes—including equities, mutual funds, and private alternatives—will be tokenized within the next four to five years. This aligns with the broader trend of institutional blockchain adoption, where the focus has shifted from speculative trading to efficiency, transparency, and instant liquidity.

"Tokenization is the next leap forward that will re-architect markets," Soto Sanchez emphasized in the report. "It’s clear financial services firms see tokenization is a long-term structural evolution... that delivers efficiency, transparency, and liquidity."

The ROI Reality Check

For years, skepticism lingered regarding the tangible returns of digital transformation. The 2026 data puts those doubts to rest. The number of firms reporting measurable financial benefits from their AI investments has nearly doubled year-over-year, rising to 27% from just 14% in 2025. This 13-point increase signals that the industry has cracked the code on deployment strategies that drive bottom-line value.

This focus on ROI is driving a ruthless prioritization of technology stacks. The era of "innovation theater" is over; firms are now doubling down on technologies that deliver immediate operational resilience and cost reduction. Consequently, AI has surpassed cloud computing as the technology viewed as having the greatest business impact, reshaping budget allocations across Wall Street and beyond.

Infrastructure: The trillion-Dollar Challenge

Despite the optimism, the path to a fully tokenized, AI-driven future is paved with infrastructure challenges. The study finds that DLT market infrastructure cannot simply be bolted onto 40-year-old mainframes. A significant 43% of respondents believe they will need to rebuild their core technology stacks entirely to support the new AI-driven operating models.

Integration remains the watchword for 2026. Eighty-four percent of firms emphasized the critical importance of unified platforms that can synthesize data from front, middle, and back offices. Without this cohesion, the promise of agentic AI—which relies on pristine, accessible data to make accurate decisions—cannot be fully realized.

Furthermore, 70% of firms indicated that external partnerships will be essential to capturing value in this new ecosystem. As the industry moves toward interoperable standards, the "build it all yourself" mentality is fading in favor of collaborative ecosystems where custodians, asset managers, and fintech providers connect through shared, on-chain networks.

Looking Ahead

As we move deeper into 2026, the financial services landscape is becoming increasingly bifurcated. On one side are the firms aggressively adopting on-chain finance trends and agentic workflows; on the other are those clinging to legacy models. With the data showing a clear correlation between digital maturity and financial performance, the message from Broadridge’s latest study is unambiguous: the time for experimentation has passed, and the era of execution has begun.