IOTA Makes a Splash as Two Abu Dhabi Firms Announce They're Tokenizing US Treasuries on the Network

Founder Dominik Schiener says he's "really proud" of the achievement, and that it's only the first step towards global domination.

Two Abu Dhabi firms announced on Monday the launch of a tokenized US Treasuries fund, the first such product in the region.

Neovision Wealth Management and Realize, two firms based in the UAE’s international financial center, Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM), announced the launch of the Realize T-BILLS Fund. The fund will purchase units of American ETFs that focus on the country’s Treasury bills and convert these units into tokens that investors can buy, hold, and sell on the IOTA and Ethereum blockchains. At launch, the fund will focus on ETF offerings from the two dominant players: BlackRock with its iShares and State Street with SPDR.

Realize, a company co-founded by IOTA founder Dominik Schiener, says it’s “truly honored” to work with the ADGM to issue the first tokenized Treasury bills in the Middle East. The firm praised the ADGM’s “commitment to maintaining stringent standards,” which it says has created a secure environment for investors.

“This collaboration underscores the importance of strong regulatory frameworks in driving innovation and the tokenization of real-world assets,” Realize stated.

We are truly honored to be a part of @ADGlobalMarket and to have worked together on the launch of the Realize T-BILLS Fund (OEIC) Limited, the first tokenized T-Bills fund in the region.

This collaboration underscores the importance of strong regulatory frameworks in driving… pic.twitter.com/Wfg2yXHgIW

— Realize (@realizefinance) November 11, 2024

Schiener also highlighted the importance of the new product and ADGM’s role in their creation, stating:

Really proud of what we are building with Realize in Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM)

ADGM’s commitment to financial innovation and clear regulations enable us to build one of the leading tokenization ecosystems on IOTA and across Web3. We are here to bring real, yield-bearing assets onchain and make them accessible to investors around the world. First we tokenize, then we collateralize, and then we make them tradeable.

On its part, the ADGM captured the importance of the new products by describing them as “an important initiative in asset tokenization that underscores our commitment to innovation.”

“Arvind Ramamurthy, the center’s chief market development officer, added, “As a tokenized investment fund adhering to stringent regulatory standards, it positions the international financial center of Abu Dhabi as a global leader in real-world asset tokenization. We look forward to their contribution to our vibrant ecosystem.”

Tokenization is a big target for blockchain and could anchor the most value in the sector by the end of the decade. Some experts estimate that it would unlock $16 trillion by 2030, which would be over five times higher than the value of all cryptocurrencies combined. Additionally, tokenization concerns real-world assets, making it an even more alluring application as it could take blockchain mainstream.

Meanwhile, IOTA trades at $0.145, gaining 5% in the past day to bring its weekly gains to 37% amid an 83% surge in trading volume.