Page 18 - CMA Journal (Jan-Feb 2026)
P. 18
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
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ICMA: What makes a blockchain or toke-
nization application truly trusted in
practice and how does INATBA support
this through governance and interoper-
ability standards?
Izzat-Begum B. Rajan: A trusted
application is one in which legal rights are
clearly defined, the technology is secure
and auditable, and governance and
accountability exist for every
actor—issuers, custodians, platforms,
validators, and service providers. Trust also
depends on interoperability, allowing
assets to move safely across systems
without vendor lock-in. INATBA supports
this by bringing together regulators,
Ms. Izzat-Begum B. Rajan industry, and academia to align on
practical governance principles, shared
Former Board Chair, International Association
terminology, and interoperable
for Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA) approaches that can be applied across
jurisdictions and sectors.
Digital rights, for example ICMA: Your Tokenization report highlights
huge potential for inclusive growth. How
can tokenization increase liquidity and
royalties and licensing revenues, access in developing markets and what
first steps should be taken?
are among the most ready for Izzat-Begum B. Rajan: Tokenization can
enhance inclusion by enabling fractional
tokenization because the asset ownership, reducing issuance and transfer
costs, widening the investor base including
diaspora and SMEs, and accelerating
lifecycle is already digital, rights settlement and collateralization. These
factors collectively unlock liquidity in
can be standardized, and markets where it is limited. This includes
prioritizing assets with clear ownership or
title, establish fit for purpose rules and
distribution can be automated maintain supervisory dialogue through
pilots or sandboxes, and ensure identity
verification, compliance, custody, and
transparently dispute resolution mechanisms are robust
before scaling.
ICMA’s Chartered Management Accountant, Jan-Feb 2026
