- RWA World
- Posts
- 🤏 $12 Billion Too Small for RWAs?
🤏 $12 Billion Too Small for RWAs?
RWA World Newsletter - Sept 20, 2024
According to Binance Research, RWAs officially hit the $12 billion mark! Our friends at Provenance are already at $14 billion on their own, but different calculations for different firms. 📊
Binance is also interested in calculating how RWAs factor into its portfolio, backing Treasury tokenizer OpenEden. 💸
🎯🔥 Rapid Fire Takeaways:
They’re not the only ones interested in tokenizing Treasuries. Asset management giant Janus Henderson and its $360 billion portfolio is now involved with Anemoy Treasury Fund. 🤝
$100 billion RWAs soon? 👀
⭐ Chat with the Best
Fantastic conversation this week with Metacask and Segmint, where we discussed the nuances of bringing exclusive casks of premium beverages on-chain. You might be surprised at the potential returns from this highly liquid (🥁🎶) industry.
We’re also moving quickly towards October 8, where you’ll find us in Salt Lake City, Utah, for RWA Day! Secure one of the few seats left and circle up with the best minds in the tokenized asset space. 🧠
We’ll see you there on Friday at 2 pm EDT for the weekly RWA World Roundup! 🤠
☯️ Tokenization - Hitting Both Sides of the Market
Tokenization is going both ways. Bank Syz, a private Swiss company, recently worked with Taurus to tokenize a work by Picasso, bringing the traditional to the tech. Conversely, Singaporean DBS Bank now offers institutions Bitcoin and Crypto options, bringing new digital options to existing markets. 🖼️
More proof: 21X and Tokeny are integrating blockchain into capital markets, and ParaFi is collaborating with Securitize to tokenize a chunk of its $1 billion fund. To make things even more plug-and-play, Hedera kicked off a new Asset Tokenization Studio (ATS) to streamline inflows. 🚀
The world’s oldest asset class, gold, is also making its way on-chain, with Matrixport kicking off a gold-backed token, XAUm. Swam Markets had an insightful take on where this all leads. Same with some of the newest asset classes. Northern Trust is using blockchain for the voluntary carbon credit market with great results. They’re not the first, though. Our friends at Open Forest Protocol just closed their seed round and are bringing game-changing tech to the global voluntary carbon markets! Their progress is worth keeping an eye on. 🌱
📈 Stablecoins, Stable Growth
CoinGecko released its annual State of Stablecoins report for 2024 this week, and USD-denominated stablecoins still rule the day. Despite all the growth, the OMFIF still says that the real inflection point for tokenization is three years away… but we have a clear path forward, with Credit union regulators (NCUA) coming out supporting crypto and digital asset innovation. 🎉
Credit unions won’t move the world economy, but 40 firms joining a central bank group to work on leveraging blockchain for global payments might. You might recall Project Agora, which is fully supported by the IMF and laser-focused on aligning incentives and systems on a global scale. Top off individual jurisdictions making moves, like Nigeria tapping CBDC-savvy firm Sorimitsu for public research, and the trend is clear. 🔍
Big banks are in the running as well. SDAX has secured $50 million from its Series B2, and big Japanese banks SBI and MUFG just seeded DeCurrent with $45 million to supercharge tokenized deposits. Some firms like Broadridge are further ahead, working with a Tier 1 Canadian bank on high-quality liquid asset workflow. 💧
🦁 A Kingdom United for Digital Assets
The UK, in particular, has had a blockbuster week for digital assets. A new digital property bill has been introduced to Parliament to carve out a third definition of property in the Kingdom. Interestingly, this definition also applies to other forms of digital property, like voluntary carbon credits, helping blaze a clear regulatory framework for 21st-century asset ownership. 💿
They’re not stopping there. Member banks are officially experimenting with CBDC tokenization, with Barclays exploring potential designs for a digital pound. The Regulated Liability Network, similar to Project Agora, has also seen massive success and has released three reports summarizing its progress. 🇬🇧
Of course, all this progress will integrate with the global payment system. That’s powered by Swift, which just announced a plan to streamline the adoption of digital assets into its global payments network. Recall Chainlink’s CCIP, which works with Swift, is likely a big factor in the underlying infrastructure and integrations. ⛓️
Is this a “Rule Brittania” moment for digital assets? 👑
🏜️ UAE on the Rise
The old frontrunners might not have a repeat of history, as the UAE is emerging as a leader in the digital asset space. Finstreet has secured a license to kick off a UAE-based blockchain ecosystem headed by ex-SIX executive Thomas Zeeb, a move that leveraged deep expertise given SIX’s track record. 📋
It’s more than personnel – Standard Chartered just courted Bevan Howard Digital as its first client for its digital asset custody business based in the Kingdom. Based on a recent report, Brevan Howard is particularly interested in stablecoins and their impact on emerging markets. A separate UAE company also launched a dedicated Layer 2 blockchain, IOWN, for the Malaysian government. 🏢
Global presence is the name of the game, and the UAE’s Rakbank is officially using China’s mBridge for wholesale CBDC settlement. China is particularly interested in how to incentivize CBDC adoption further as it competes for monetary market share, and partnerships like these are making good headway. 🐉
🕞 Three Weeks Away
We’re fast approaching October 8, when RWA Day will kick off in Salt Lake City, Utah!
If you’re interested in asset tokenization, this is an excellent opportunity to network with the brightest minds in the industry.
Secure your spot today, and we’ll see you there and in next week’s newsletter.