As of July 2025, programmable money has evolved from experimentation to infrastructure. Embedded with smart contract logic and built on compliant digital ledgers, this new class of financial assets is reshaping how money moves, settles, and scales. Enabled by blockchain and guided by fresh regulatory clarity, banks and regulated institutions are leading the charge—deploying programmable assets to automate workflows, unlock liquidity, and serve global markets faster than ever before.
From JPMorgan’s JPM Coin, JPMD to UBS’s tokenized bonds and Franklin Templeton’s blockchain-native funds, programmable money is no longer a hypothetical—it is a high-revenue, high-efficiency reality. In this analysis, we identify 12 programmable money asset types, structured into six functional categories: Payments, Securities, Funds, Tokenized Assets, ESG, and DeFi (Permissioned), along with custody as a critical enabler. Each category removes unique frictions and generates $10M to $150M+ in annual revenue per asset type. These estimates are grounded in current transaction volumes, assets under management (AUM), and real-world fee structures.
Payments: Smarter, Faster, Borderless
In the world of programmable money, payments are where the transformation is most tangible. Instead of settling over days through intermediaries, programmable assets like Deposit Coins and Stablecoins settle instantly and on-chain—with compliance, FX, and reconciliation embedded in code.
Banks like JPMorgan and SocGen are already using their programmable assets (JPM Coin, EURCV) for institutional treasury flows, while Circle and PayPal are pushing stablecoins into consumer and B2B payments. The friction of slow cross-border transfers and remittance fees is rapidly disappearing.
Revenue logic: Estimated $100M–$150M+ from 5–15 bps average fees on $500B+ in annual settlement volume across major platforms and deposit networks.
Securities: Automated, Transparent, and Always-On
In capital markets, programmable money is transforming securities into living instruments. Tokenized bonds—like those issued by UBS, SocGen Forge, and the European Investment Bank—now settle instantly with coupon payments executed automatically. Meanwhile, platforms like Securitize and tZERO are revolutionizing private market access through Security Token Offerings (STOs) that automate investor onboarding, compliance, and equity distribution.
This shift is removing structural friction that has slowed capital formation for decades, while opening private securities to a broader investor base.
Revenue logic: $20M–$100M+ annually based on 0.25–1% issuance and trading fees applied to $10B–$20B in tokenized issuance and activity.
Funds: Liquidity Meets Intelligence
In the historically illiquid world of funds, programmable money is driving two seismic changes: real-time settlement and automated asset servicing. Platforms like Franklin Templeton and BlackRock now tokenize Money Market Funds, allowing investors to receive programmable yield with near-instant liquidity. Meanwhile, Hamilton Lane and ADDX are pioneering tokenized private equity vehicles that make capital calls, distributions, and secondary trading seamless and automated.
This evolution is giving institutional-grade access and efficiency to investor segments that were previously excluded by cost, geography, or operational complexity.
Revenue logic: $20M–$100M per year, based on 0.5–2% management and service fees across $3B+ in tokenized AUM and fund flows.
Tokenized Assets: Real-World Value, Digitally Delivered
Programmable money is unlocking physical assets like gold and real estate for digital ownership. Paxos’s PAXG, backed by gold reserves, enables fractional, tradeable exposure to bullion, with smart contracts handling custody and redemption. Meanwhile, projects in Dubai, RealT, and ComTech Gold are leading the charge in tokenized real estate, offering global investors direct ownership stakes—with rent payouts and governance embedded into the token logic.
These assets solve two long-standing frictions: limited access and high transaction costs. Tokenization compresses both into a digital wrapper, radically improving efficiency and liquidity.
Revenue logic: $10M–$100M, estimated via 10–50 bps in custody, spreads, and trading fees applied to $5B+ in tokenized real-world asset volume.
ESG: Trusted Carbon Markets Through Code
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) markets have long struggled with opacity and unverifiable claims. Programmable money changes that. Carbon Credit Tokens, such as those developed by JPMorgan Onyx with S&P, and startups like Toucan and Flowcarbon, now offer real-time audit trails, automated offset verification, and transparent on-chain marketplaces.
By turning ESG claims into verifiable smart contracts, programmable money makes carbon offset markets more trustworthy, investable, and scalable.
Revenue logic: $20M–$60M per year from 2–5% platform and transaction fees on $1B–$2B of tokenized carbon credits.
DeFi (Permissioned): Regulated Yield, Institutional Access
The next generation of decentralized finance isn’t wild-west experimentation—it’s fully permissioned, regulated, and agentically optimized. Projects like MAS’s Project Guardian, Maple Finance, and Aave Arc are creating permissioned DeFi pools where KYC’d institutions can lend, borrow, and earn yield with full compliance and embedded risk controls.
By combining the composability of DeFi with the trust of regulated frameworks, permissioned DeFi is now a revenue-generating engine for asset managers, banks, and fintechs alike.
Revenue logic: $80M–$120M annually from 1–3% protocol fees, lending spreads, and platform commissions on $4B–$6B in institutional lending volumes.
Custody Services: Securing the Digital Foundation
None of this programmable revolution works without secure, compliant custody. Firms like BNY Mellon, Fidelity Digital Assets, and State Street are anchoring the industry by providing enterprise-grade custody services for tokenized securities, stablecoins, and programmable assets.
These platforms go beyond safekeeping—embedding smart contract controls, anomaly detection, and real-time auditability to meet the requirements of asset managers, insurers, and sovereign funds.
Revenue logic: $30M–$80M per year from 10–20 bps custody and operational service fees on $15B–$40B in tokenized AUM under custody.
Agentic AI: The Multiplying Force
As programmable money reshapes the rails of finance, Agentic AI is becoming the engine that drives them. These autonomous agents—capable of reasoning, planning, and executing tasks—are transforming each category by making programmable finance not just automated, but intelligent.
In Payments, AI routes transactions based on FX rates and network congestion to minimize cost in real time. In Securities, it automates compliance, onboarding, and contract issuance, reducing days to minutes. In Funds, it calculates real-time NAVs and executes programmable distributions. For Tokenized Assets, it adjusts mint/burn strategies based on liquidity needs. In ESG, AI audits carbon offsets through IoT and satellite integrations. And in Custody, it detects anomalies across thousands of wallets with no human intervention.
Collectively, Agentic AI reduces operating costs by 20–30%, compresses settlement cycles, and drives revenue yield higher—positioning programmable money to become the new default for financial infrastructure.
Where This Is Headed
With regulatory frameworks stabilizing and institutions going live across all categories, programmable money is no longer on the fringe. It is becoming the foundation of a smarter, more efficient, and more inclusive financial system. Revenue per asset type is now reaching $10M to $150M+, driven by real clients, real volumes, and real automation.
The future is clear: programmable money—enhanced by Agentic AI—is the infrastructure layer of open finance.
Which category will shape your strategy? How will you participate in this intelligent transformation of money? Let’s connect and build the future—one smart contract at a time.