ABN AMRO: Where tokenized deposits fit in banking

The debate around stablecoins and tokenized deposits is often framed as a choice between two competing forms of digital money. Elie Naba, Innovation Manager at ABN AMRO, offered a more practical view in Episode 4 of Range Stablecoin Fireside. Stablecoins, tokenized deposits and central bank digital currencies represent familiar forms of money in a new technical environment. The more useful question is how each form can serve the function it is best equipped to perform.

That framing leads to a clear operating challenge. Range's view is that banks need infrastructure that can support assets moving onchain, reconcile activity with core banking systems and apply familiar controls to transactions that settle continuously. Range's view is that institutions that solve those requirements can expand how customers hold, move and invest money without discarding the protections built into regulated finance.

Range's view is that institutions need a unified control layer for the infrastructure Naba described. Range starts with the institution's regulatory and reporting requirements, translates them into operational controls and orchestrates the risk and compliance providers the institution already uses. Transaction monitoring, reconciliation and reporting then run from the same record across wallets, custodians, exchanges and bank accounts. For teams using Range, that means the blockchain account and the core banking account can be governed through one control layer without flattening the differences between them.

Three forms of money, brought onchain

Naba began with a simple observation: "these three versions of money have always existed." A central bank digital currency represents central bank money in digital form. A stablecoin issued under electronic money rules represents value inside a digital network. A tokenized deposit represents a commercial bank deposit onchain. The instruments differ in issuer, economic function and regulatory treatment even when they share blockchain infrastructure. Range's view is that a shared technical rail does not make the instruments interchangeable. Institutions still need to identify the claim a token represents, the entity responsible for it and the rules that govern its use.

For customers, Naba connected bank deposits with two familiar benefits: deposit protection up to the applicable threshold and the ability to earn yield on idle money. He also placed deposits within the broader role banks play in the economy. Deposits provide funding that banks can lend, linking the value held by customers with credit extended to the economy. In his account, that model developed through repeated cycles of expansion, risk and tighter oversight. The modern deposit is therefore both a customer product and part of a regulated system for managing reserves and lending.

That economic role explains his preference for tokenized deposits. Naba said: "I think they are the most efficient form of money that exists today, and we should basically try to see how we can bring that efficient form of money on chain and make it work for our customers." Tokenization can bring that form of money into environments where assets and instructions are represented onchain, while the underlying deposit retains its role inside the banking system.

The distinction matters because blockchain changes the representation and movement of money, not the reason each instrument exists. In Naba's account, MiCA organized blockchain-issued assets into familiar regulatory categories rather than treating every token as a new asset class. Range's view is that institutions should preserve those distinctions in their systems of record. A stablecoin balance, a bank deposit and a tokenized security may appear in the same operational view, but they carry different obligations and controls.

Stablecoins for movement, deposits for productive capital

Stablecoins have a clear advantage when money needs to move. Naba described a regulated stablecoin as money that can be held by different actors and settle immediately. In his words, "it's money that travels at Internet speed." That portability gives stablecoins a strong role in payments, particularly where the existing path crosses borders or involves assets already issued onchain. European stablecoins remain an early market in his assessment, which leaves room for new applications to emerge as issuers and institutions build within the regulatory framework.

Tokenized deposits offer a different value. Naba argued that their connection to bank lending makes them more elastic for the economy, while their structure gives customers the safety and yield associated with deposits. His preferred outcome is coexistence: stablecoins can support movement, then value can return to a tokenized deposit or another yield-generating instrument when it is no longer in transit.

This model becomes more dynamic when software manages balances. Naba described AI agents converting value into stablecoins when a payment is due, sending the payment and moving idle value back into a yield-bearing instrument afterward. The point is continuous allocation. Money can use the rail suited to the immediate task while a portfolio remains productive between transactions.

Yield also brings regulation into focus. Naba traced bank oversight to repeated cycles in which institutions offered higher returns by taking greater risk. His conclusion was direct: "Let them abide by the same rules that we we play by and then, sure, offer yield." If stablecoin issuers want to provide deposit-like returns, his position is that they should follow the same rules as banks. Range's view is that product design and control design therefore have to advance together. The asset label matters less than whether the operating model can enforce the obligations attached to it.

Range's view: banks need an operating layer between wallets and core systems

For banks beginning this work, Naba's first priority was straightforward: "I think the first thing that that banks should be looking at is their infrastructure." Core banking systems typically record a defined asset against an account. A blockchain wallet can hold stablecoins, tokenized deposits, securities, yield-bearing instruments and other crypto assets in one address. Banks need to reconcile these different data models before they can offer reliable blockchain-based accounts. Range's view is that this reconciliation becomes a foundation for custody, accounting and customer service because each team needs to understand the same collection of assets through its own operational lens.

Naba outlined a practical sequence. Institutions first need wallet infrastructure that lets customers hold assets with the bank. They then need data to move between those wallets and the core banking system, creating the on-ramp and off-ramp. Once value can enter and leave a customer's bank account, compliance teams need to know the sender, receiver and source of funds, and determine whether a transaction is safe to process.

Naba specifically pointed to know-your-transaction capabilities from Range as part of the answer for banks receiving tokens or supporting cash-outs. Range's view is that screening should sit inside the flow of funds, with the policy, counterparty context and resulting evidence attached to the transaction. That gives finance and compliance teams a consistent way to decide whether value can move and a usable record of why the decision was made.

A 24/7 market changes liquidity, settlement and privacy

The harder transition is operational. Naba framed the risk directly: "So I think the biggest risk that we still have not experienced with is what does it mean to actually operate in a twenty four seven economy." Continuous movement affects how banks manage deposits, capital reserves and customer relationships. He also questioned current demand for round-the-clock corporate payments because corporate treasurers still work conventional hours.

ABN AMRO explored that issue through a theoretical exercise around tokenized securities. The model required a tokenized security, a blockchain that operates continuously, a smart contract to support exchange and a cash leg on the same network to trigger purchases and sales. The cash leg needed to sit on the same blockchain as the tokenized security.

Naba was candid that banks are not ready today to operate fully around the clock, and he questioned whether corporate payment demand yet requires them to do so. He saw a clearer near-term case in investments, where customers may want to enter and exit yield-bearing assets at any time. He also identified cross-border payments and payment-versus-delivery securities transactions as areas where blockchain-based money can gain traction. This points to adoption by use case rather than a wholesale migration of money onchain. In markets with efficient domestic payment infrastructure, a blockchain rail has to offer a meaningful improvement before customers have a reason to switch.

Network choice adds another constraint. Naba said: "I'm a big believer in permissionless blockchains." He also recognized that private networks can suit transactions between banking counterparts. Privacy remains the dividing issue. Public networks expose transaction data that financial institutions may have sound reasons to keep confidential, particularly when disclosure could influence markets. In his view, stronger privacy on public blockchains would reduce the appeal of private alternatives. Range's view is that either architecture still needs attributed counterparties, policy-aware controls and reconciliation that connects settlement activity to the institution's books.

Upgrade the operating model for tokenized money

Naba's closing recommendation was to upgrade finance by making it faster and more efficient, rather than rebuild banking from zero. Range gives institutions the unified record and operational controls needed to put that principle into practice across stablecoins and fiat. See how Range supports stablecoin operations.

About ABN AMRO

ABN AMRO is a bank serving retail, private banking and corporate banking clients, with its primary focus in Northwest Europe. It offers banking products, services and financial advice through digital and personal channels. Learn more at abnamro.com.

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