Deloitte Warns Tokenized Settlement Could Create Manipulation ’Blind Spot’ as Wall Street Pushes T+0
Deloitte's 2026 financial markets outlook sounds the alarm on tokenized settlement's unintended consequence: a regulatory blind spot where market manipulation could thrive. The report frames T+0 settlement—Wall Street's quiet revolution—as both inevitable and fraught with hidden risks.
Tokenization promises cleaner rails for securities movement, but Deloitte cautions that legacy systems aren't disappearing. 'The real world still runs on settlement cycles and reconciliations,' notes the report, suggesting hybrid systems will dominate until infrastructure catches up.
Deloitte managing directors Roy Ben-Hur and Meghan Burns see contained pilots for tokenized bonds and stablecoins as the pragmatic path forward, not wholesale market overhaul. Their warning underscores a brewing conflict between blockchain's speed and regulators' ability to monitor flows.
