UBS launches tokenized investment fund uMINT on Ethereum

Switzerland's largest financial holding company UBS has launched its first tokenized investment fund uMINT, which is a currency market fund based on Ethereum's distributed ledger technology and will be offered through authorized distribution partners.

UBS Tokenize Continues to Expand Tokenization Services

UBS announced in October 2023 the launch of a tokenized currency market fund pilot on Ethereum, as part of the Project Guardian led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). UBS's role in the experiment is to directly issue Variable Capital Company (VCC) funds on the digital asset network. The aim is to enhance fund distribution, promote trading of VCC fund shares on the secondary market, and thus improve the operational efficiency of the entire industry.

UBS Asset Management utilizes its in-house UBS Tokenize to continuously expand tokenization services, supporting opportunities throughout the asset lifecycle, including initiation, issuance, distribution, and custody, initially focusing on tokenizing bonds, funds, and structured products. It has now launched its first tokenized investment fund, uMINT, a money market fund based on Ethereum's distributed ledger technology, to be offered through authorized distribution partners.

Thomas Kaegi, Head of UBS Asset Management Asia Pacific, stated:

We see growing investor interest in tokenized financial assets across asset classes. Through our global reach and collaboration with peers and regulators, we can now offer innovative solutions to our clients.

Major Financial Giants Join In, Promising Future for RWA

According to data from RWA.xyz, the current value of on-chain Real World Assets (RWA) amounts to $3.9 billion excluding private loans, with Ethereum being the largest blockchain for tokenizing real-world assets, with tokenized asset value exceeding $3 billion. Among asset classes, U.S. Treasuries dominate, with a value of $2.4 billion.

BlackRock's BUIDL holds the highest market value of U.S. Treasuries at over $523 million, while Franklin Templeton's FOBXX on-chain U.S. government currency fund is valued at approximately $408 million.

RWA stands for Real World Assets, representing the introduction of many physical or intangible assets from the non-blockchain world into the blockchain through tokenization technology, making them tradable assets on the chain, known as "real asset tokenization." This allows traditional finance (TradFi) to benefit from the efficiency, transparency, and speed of blockchain technology, while enabling Web3 to access traditional financial investment products. It also serves as a bridge between TradFi and DeFi, allowing traditional financial assets to operate in the DeFi world and inject significant liquidity.

The successive participation of major financial giants like BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and UBS signifies increasing market acceptance of the tokenization market.

Franklin Templeton announced the launch of the tokenized U.S. bond fund FOBXX on Base, boosting the Base RWA ecosystem.