Japan’s Progmat has completed the migration of its security token infrastructure, covering about ¥452 billion, or roughly $2.7 billion, in assets, from a permissioned Corda 5 ledger to the Avalanche blockchain, marking one of the most significant moves by a regulated Japanese digital securities platform onto a public blockchain network.
The company said the transition was completed in July as scheduled and without interrupting operations for participating financial institutions. Existing projects continued to run during the process, while smart contracts were converted to operate with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, or EVM, a widely used software environment for blockchain applications.
The move is important because Progmat is not a small experimental platform. It is Japan’s largest security token infrastructure provider and plays a central role in the country’s tokenized securities market. The company says it accounts for about 53% of Japan’s security token market and 64.6% of total issuance value, with activity spanning tokenized real estate, corporate bonds and other regulated financial products.
By shifting from a permissioned ledger to Avalanche’s public blockchain infrastructure, Progmat is taking a major step toward making Japanese tokenized securities more compatible with global digital asset networks. The migration also shows how financial institutions in Japan are testing public blockchain systems while still trying to meet strict compliance, governance and operational requirements.
The company said post-migration testing showed rights transfer processing became about three to five times faster. Transaction finality, meaning the point at which a transaction is considered irreversible, now occurs in less than two seconds, according to Progmat’s update.
The completed migration places Progmat at the center of a broader question facing financial markets: whether tokenized securities can move from controlled, domestic platforms into more open blockchain environments without weakening protections required by banks, regulators and corporate issuers.
Why the migration matters
Progmat was originally developed inside Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking before becoming an independent company in late 2023. Its backing includes major names in Japan’s financial sector, including Mizuho, the Tokyo Stock Exchange and SBI.
That background gives the platform a different profile from many blockchain projects. Progmat was built for regulated financial instruments rather than retail crypto trading. Its users include financial institutions that handle securities issuance, custody, settlement and post-trade administration.
Security tokens are digital representations of regulated assets, such as real estate interests, bonds or other financial claims. Unlike many cryptocurrencies, they are usually subject to securities laws, transfer restrictions, identity checks and reporting obligations. That makes their infrastructure more complex than ordinary token transfers.
For years, many institutions preferred private or permissioned blockchains because those systems offered tighter control over who could participate. Permissioned networks can restrict access, set clearer governance rules and make it easier for banks to satisfy internal risk and compliance standards.
Public blockchains, by contrast, are open by design. Anyone can usually view activity, and participation is broader. That openness can improve interoperability and liquidity, but it also raises questions about data privacy, regulatory control, transaction monitoring and operational risk.
Progmat’s move is therefore not simply a software upgrade. It is a test of whether a large regulated tokenization platform can operate on public blockchain rails while preserving the controls required for securities markets.
From Corda to Avalanche
The platform’s previous infrastructure used Corda 5, a permissioned distributed ledger technology often associated with enterprise and financial-sector applications. Corda has been widely used for projects that require restricted participation and clearly defined network governance.
Avalanche, the destination network, is a public blockchain architecture that supports custom Layer 1 networks and is compatible with EVM-based smart contracts. EVM compatibility matters because it allows developers to use tools and contract standards common across Ethereum-related ecosystems.
Progmat said all existing smart contracts were converted for EVM operation, allowing live projects to continue without changes to their basic structure. That continuity is important in securities markets, where operational disruption can affect issuers, brokers, custodians, trustees and end clients.
The company also said participating financial institutions experienced no interruption during the July migration. For a platform handling regulated instruments, that point is central. A failed or disorderly migration could have created problems around ownership records, settlement timing, reconciliation and corporate actions.
Instead, Progmat presented the move as an orderly transition to a more accessible and globally compatible architecture.
Faster settlement and broader access
One of the headline operational claims from the migration is faster rights transfer processing. According to Progmat, processing speeds improved by roughly three to five times after the move, while finality now takes less than two seconds.
In traditional securities markets, settlement can involve multiple intermediaries and can take one or more business days, depending on the asset class and market structure. Tokenized securities aim to reduce that friction by recording ownership and transfer activity on shared digital ledgers.
Faster finality can reduce uncertainty after a transaction. It can also help automate downstream functions such as collateral management, distribution of payments, and record updates. However, speed alone does not solve all market challenges. Regulated securities still require legal enforceability, identity controls, custody arrangements, dispute resolution processes and clear treatment under local law.
Progmat’s migration suggests that public blockchain infrastructure is becoming more acceptable for these kinds of regulated uses, at least when paired with compliance controls at the application and participant level.
The broader access enabled by Avalanche’s public blockchain environment is also significant. Progmat’s earlier structure was mainly domestic and institutionally controlled. The new architecture could make it easier, over time, for overseas participants and global blockchain applications to interact with Japanese tokenized securities, subject to regulatory approval and platform rules.
That does not mean Japanese security tokens will immediately become freely tradable worldwide. Securities regulations still apply. Transfer restrictions, eligibility checks and local market rules remain important. But the technical foundation is now more aligned with cross-border digital asset infrastructure.
Japan’s tokenized securities market gains scale
Japan has been one of the more active major economies in the development of regulated tokenized securities. Real estate-backed security tokens have been a particularly important category, giving traders digital exposure to property-related cash flows and ownership structures under regulated frameworks.
Corporate bonds and other debt instruments have also been natural targets for tokenization. Bond markets rely heavily on recordkeeping, payment schedules, settlement processes and custody arrangements, all of which can potentially be streamlined with programmable infrastructure.
Progmat’s market share makes the migration consequential for Japan’s overall digital securities sector. A platform that accounts for more than half of the market by share and nearly two-thirds of issuance value can set technical standards that others may need to follow.
If the migration proves stable, other financial institutions may become more comfortable using public blockchain infrastructure for securities-related activity. If problems emerge, it could reinforce the preference for private systems. For now, the successful completion of the move gives public blockchain advocates a major example from a highly regulated market.
The timing is also important. Many banks, asset managers and market infrastructure providers globally are testing tokenization for funds, bonds, deposits, real estate and collateral. The sector has moved beyond small proofs of concept, but large-scale adoption remains uneven.
Progmat’s migration adds another case study to that global discussion. It shows that a major platform can move existing regulated tokenized assets from a permissioned ledger to a public blockchain-compatible environment without stopping operations.
Government bonds and on-chain repo
Progmat’s blockchain migration follows another important initiative launched earlier in the year. In May, the company formed a Tokenized Government Bonds and On-Chain Repo Working Group with financial-sector participants to study the feasibility of tokenized Japanese Government Bonds.
That working group is examining models for around-the-clock trading and same-day settlement. It is also looking at how tokenized government bonds could support repo transactions conducted on-chain.
Repo, short for repurchase agreement, is a key part of modern financial markets. In a repo transaction, one party sells a security and agrees to buy it back later, usually at a slightly higher price. The structure is often used for short-term funding and collateral management.
Government bonds are widely used as high-quality collateral in repo markets. If they can be tokenized and settled on-chain, some market participants believe collateral could move more quickly and with fewer operational frictions.
For Japan, tokenized government bonds would represent a major expansion from real estate and corporate securities into one of the deepest and most important parts of the financial system. That would require careful coordination with regulators, banks, custodians, brokers and market infrastructure providers.
The idea of around-the-clock trading also raises practical questions. Traditional bond markets operate within established trading hours, settlement schedules and central-bank liquidity frameworks. A 24-hour model could improve flexibility but would also require new approaches to risk management, pricing, staffing and system supervision.
Compliance remains the central test
The move to a public blockchain does not remove the need for compliance. In fact, it may make compliance design even more important.
Security tokens require clear rules about who can hold them, when they can be transferred, what disclosures are required and how ownership is legally recognized. Public blockchains can record transactions openly, but regulated market participants still need permissioning layers, identity verification and transfer controls.
Progmat’s challenge is to combine the openness and technical compatibility of public blockchain infrastructure with the safeguards required by Japanese securities law and institutional risk standards.
That balance is becoming one of the defining issues in tokenization. Private ledgers can be easier for institutions to control, but they may limit interoperability. Public blockchains can connect more easily with global digital asset systems, but they require stronger controls at the smart contract, custody and compliance layers.
Progmat’s migration indicates that the company believes public infrastructure can support regulated securities if designed properly. The success of that approach will be measured not only by transaction speed, but also by reliability, legal clarity, operational resilience and acceptance among banks and regulators.
What traders will watch next
Traders following Japan’s tokenized securities market are likely to watch several developments after the migration.
The first is whether transaction volumes on Progmat rise as the platform becomes more compatible with public blockchain infrastructure. Higher accessibility could increase activity, but regulated securities markets do not grow only because technology improves. Issuance demand, product quality, distribution channels and regulatory comfort will matter just as much.
The second is whether more issuers choose tokenized structures for real estate, corporate bonds or other financial products. Progmat’s infrastructure can support market growth, but companies and financial institutions still need reasons to issue assets in tokenized form.
The third is whether the working group on tokenized Japanese Government Bonds produces a practical model for on-chain repo and same-day settlement. If government debt can be tokenized in a legally robust way, it could bring deeper liquidity and more institutional attention to Japan’s digital securities market.
The fourth is whether cross-border activity develops. A public blockchain architecture could make it easier for global participants to connect technically, but legal and regulatory barriers may still limit access.
For now, Progmat’s migration is best understood as an infrastructure milestone rather than an immediate market transformation. It improves speed, compatibility and openness, but the next phase will depend on adoption by issuers, financial institutions and regulated market participants.
A sign of where tokenization is moving
Progmat’s shift from Corda 5 to Avalanche reflects a broader change in how financial institutions think about blockchain infrastructure. Early institutional blockchain projects often favored closed systems, partly because public networks were viewed as too unpredictable or difficult to govern.
That view is changing. Public blockchain networks have become faster, more flexible and more familiar to developers. At the same time, institutions have gained more experience building compliance controls around tokenized assets.
The result is a gradual movement toward hybrid models: public blockchain infrastructure combined with regulated access, identity checks, transfer rules and institutional custody.
Progmat’s completed migration is one of the clearest examples of that trend in Japan. It shows that regulated tokenized securities can be moved onto public blockchain-compatible rails without abandoning compliance requirements.
The long-term importance of the move will depend on what comes next. If tokenized government bonds, on-chain repo and cross-border security token activity gain traction, the migration could be remembered as a turning point for Japan’s digital securities market. If adoption remains limited, it may still stand as an important technical achievement, but not yet a full market shift.
For now, the main takeaway is clear: Japan’s largest security token platform has moved a major regulated securities infrastructure onto a public blockchain environment, with faster processing, EVM compatibility and uninterrupted operations. That gives Japan’s tokenized securities market a more open technical foundation as banks and market operators continue testing how far blockchain-based finance can move into mainstream capital markets.
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