⚽ FIFA Gets Tokenized

Despite a market pullback, tokenization shows no signs of slowing down. 🏎️

Tokenized treasuries just hit the $2.5 billion mark thanks to legitimization via Blackrock’s BUIDL fund and innovations like continuous pricing from Superstate. 💥

🎯🔥 Rapid Fire Takeaways:

0️⃣ Ondo Finance integrates LayerZero for multi-chain tokenized US Treasuries transfers

⚖️ Bank of Russia Flags Dual Risk Factors for Real-World Asse

💰 OpenTrade raises $4M to build future of real-world asset-backed lending

💸 Cantor Fitzgerald Invests $600M in Tether, Gaining 5% Stake in Stablecoin Giant

📜 Congressman that led SAB 121 House vote vows to overturn crypto custody rule

🤝 Sui, Franklin Templeton launch ecosystem partnership

💳 Mastercard and JPMorgan Link Up to Bring Cross-Border Payments on the Blockchain

And while treasuries are one asset leading the charge from a market share perspective, other assets are having a massive social perception impact. 👀

Take FIFA, which is making headlines with its new game, FIFA Rivals. It’s being created in conjunction with Mythos and will have on-chain elements! ⛓️

💻 Protocols Popping Off 

Folks in the industry share this bullish sentiment – Boson Protocol founder Justin Banon recently stated, “I think that initially, we will see TradFi markets embrace RWA tokenization; as Larry Fink says, ‘The next generation for markets, the next generation for securities, will be the tokenization of securities.’” 🧬

Banon and Fink are on to something, as evidenced by BNB Chain working with Brickken to facilitate RWA tokenization and OpenTrade raising $4 million to expand RWA-backed lending solutions. tZERO is also exploring tokenized hotel ownership, further providing evidence of the diversity of assets coming on-chain. 🌐

But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for tokenized assets - at least not in every jurisdiction. The Bank of Russia has identified two key risks in asset tokenization: market volatility and regulatory difficulty. And while it can potentially help with the latter within its borders, the departure of Russia’s CBDC architect makes that future uncertain. 🐻

🕵️ The Name is Bond… Tokenized Bond 

Backing up our claim that treasuries, and bonds in general, are a leading asset class in tokenization, Ondo Finance has integrated LayerZero to take its US Treasuries multichain. NexBridge is also getting in on the action, launching its first regulated public offering for T-Bills. Top that off with Ripple and Archax collaborating on a tokenized money market fund, and treasuries are getting a lot of love. ❣️

Beyond U.S. debt and into a collaboration that sounds like Star Wars droids, B2C2 is working with PV01 to tokenize corporate bonds on Ethereum. The EIB also issued its second €100m digital bond in under a week, showing that bonds are becoming the de facto asset for institutions testing out tokenization. 🥼

Speaking of corporate debt, let’s talk about Microstrategy. 

They recently issued $3 billion in debt to fund the purchase of more Bitcoin, and the stock price loved it… before falling off hard in recent days. Now, some say MSTR is going higher, and others say lower, but with BTC up ~130% on the year and MSTR up ~560% in that same time frame, anything can happen. 

🤩 Institutions Tantalized by Tokenization

Big names getting involved means big moves for tokenization. Deutsche Bank just invested $20 million in Partior, helping them top up after their recent $60 million Series B. But that’s a small ticket compared to the $600 million that Cantor Fitzgerald invested for a 5% stake in Tether. 💰

While some are investing, others are waiting or departing. Charles Schwab is patiently waiting to start spot crypto trading once regulations change, and Fnality is on the hunt for a new leader as current CEO Rhomaios Ram prepares for retirement. After many years of building at the forefront of financial innovation, we wish Ram a comfy and relaxed retirement! 💐

And the tokenization continues, with Mastercard and J.P. Morgan working together on a blockchain-based cross-border payment system. Franklin Templeton is also expanding its purview by collaborating with Sui in an ecosystem partnership, and Zodia and Securitize are teaming up to expand their mutual offerings. 🤝

🧑‍⚖️ States State Preferences on Tokenization 

The recent trend of institutional experimentation and slower government regulation continues. Of course, that’s on a jurisdictional-by-jurisdiction basis, and perhaps no jurisdiction is more watched than the United States. The CFTC recently recommended using tokenized assets as collateral, while Congressman Flood pledged to continue his quest to strike down SAB 121 and redefine crypto custody in the US. 🦅

The NY Fed also discussed the risks of financial instability due to the lack of coherent regulations for digital assets. With SEC Chairman Gensler stepping down in the new year, that lack of clarity may quickly change.  👀

Across the pond, the UK is taking a different approach and has already begun to clarify its approach to tokenization at the recent Tokenisation Summit. Hong Kong is also seeing its largest digital bank eye retail crypto trading, further supporting signs of a slow global shift towards tokenized assets. 📈

CBDCs are also getting greater clarity, with the BIS and seven central banks sharing their views on privacy and architecture and Credit Agricole CIB and CACEIS experimenting with CBDCs in the ECB trial. 🧪

🦃 A Very Merry Turkey Day

Another excellent week for tokenized assets!

We’re approaching the end of 2024, and with American Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, we’d like to express our gratitude and thankfulness to you, dear reader.

We’re delighted you’re a part of the big things happening at RWA World. 

Until next time!