Abu Dhabi-based Realize has launched the UAE capital’s first fund to tokenize US T-Bills — aiming to take the “trad” out of TradFi and make them as tradeable as crypto.
The fund is officially live, onboarding investors through Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a spokesperson for the blockchain firm tells MONIIFY. But there’s no word yet on when the tokens will actually hit the blockchain.
T-Bills, the classic short-term for US Treasury Bills (i.e. bonds), will get a digital glow-up — made tradable on Ethereum and IOTA, Realize’s own blockchain.
A big deal?
For crypto traders, that would mean decentralized access to the low-risk, ultra-stable T-Bills within the world of 24/7 trading.
Realize is thinking big, setting its fund target at $200 million. It’s all part of a global movement to tokenize real-world assets — and yes, business is booming.
BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund is already the king, sitting on $500 million in tokenized Treasury bills.
Singapore’s financial sector is embracing the concept, and Boston Consulting Group predicts tokenization could reach $16 trillion by 2030.
So how will it work?
Realize plans to buy US T-Bills through ETFs like BlackRock’s iShares, tokenize them, and move the assets onto Ethereum and IOTA. Investors get RBILL tokens they can hold, trade, or transfer on the blockchain.
Down the line, Realize even plans to skip the ETF middleman, offering directly tokenized T-Bills — a first step toward owning a slice of US debt, blockchain-style.
T-Bills are known for stability, but tokenized T-Bills come with their own set of quirks. Bugs, regulatory hurdles, and fluctuating token prices are all risks investors will have to be aware of.
Still, in the rollercoaster world of crypto, tokenized T-Bills could be a nice, low-risk entry point — a gateway for cautious investors curious about dipping into the digital asset pool.
Abu Dhabi in its TradFi era?
The emirate’s got some serious TradFi clout (think ADIA, Mubadala, ADQ and the many banks, hedge funds, and VCs), and it’s aiming to fuse that with crypto.
Realize’s T-Bill fund is just the beginning of Abu Dhabi’s bigger plan to make the UAE capital a go-to hub for tokenized assets.
Experts say that tokenizing T-Bills is the first step in reeling in more fintech firms and investors, giving Abu Dhabi a shot at becoming a serious player in digital finance.
