If you’re a subscriber to the Arbitrum Monthly Newsletter, you may already be aware that real-world assets (RWAs) recently reached an all-time high on Arbitrum. In fact, the number of tokenized RWAs onchain continues to increase, which shows that Arbitrum is one of the leading L2s in bringing these types of assets onto Ethereum.

So, what are RWAs, anyway? In the crypto world, RWAs refer to tokenized traditional or physical financial assets. These include but are not limited to currencies, bonds, stocks, real estate, invoices, and gold. A legal entity often owns these assets and issues a digital token representing its ownership. These tokens are programmable and can be used in DeFi protocols for various purposes. 

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the prominent RWA projects on Arbitrum. 

The Institutional Giants

BlackRock: BlackRock’s tokenized BUIDL fund allows select investors to tap into short-term, low-risk US dollar Treasury yields via Securitize. 

Franklin Templeton: Franklin Templeton was one of the first traditional asset managers to go onchain. Its mobile app, Benji Investments, allows users to access the asset management firm’s Onchain US Government Money Fund (FOXBB). 

Wisdom Tree: WisdomTree launched WisdomTree Connect, which offers onchain investors access to 13 tokenized funds, exposing them to asset classes including money market instruments, equities, fixed income and asset allocation strategies. 

Wellington Management: Wellington Management collaborated with FundBridge Capital and Libeara to launch the Delta Wellington Ultra Short Treasury On-Chain Fund (ULTRA Fund), which invests in short-duration US Treasury securities, repos, reverse repos, and cash reserves. 

Tokenized Yield and Treasuries

Ondo Finance: Ondo Finance tokenizes US treasuries and allows investors to tap into real-world yield strategies. Its USDY is a Yield Bearing, permissionless stablecoin which is backed by US Treasuries and returns that yield to the user. 

OpenEden: OpenEden brings tokenized US Treasury bills onto the blockchain with real-time proof of reserves. Its primary product is the TBILL, a token fully backed by short-term Treasuries and custodied by a licensed third party.

Spiko: Paris-based Spiko primarily offers tokenized money market funds (MMFs). One of its most popular MMFs is the Euro T-Bill (EUTBL). Their U.S. T-bill (USTBL) is also seeing rapid adoption among Web2 and Web3 startups across Europe, APAC, Africa, and LATAM.

Real Estate and Alternative Assets

Estate Protocol: Estate Protocol is building a real estate marketplace on the blockchain. Its primary focus is turning residential and commercial properties into liquid, tradable tokens.

Libre: Libre tokenizes alternative assets, including private credit, hedge funds, and real estate. It has partnered with institutions such as Brevan Howard and Hamilton Lane.

Equities and Private Credit

Backed: Backed issues tokenized versions of traditional ETFs and stocks. Users can buy ERC-20 tokens representing ETFs such as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

Berry Investing: Berry primarily focuses on tokenizing stocks, ETFs, and money market funds. It allows users to own shares fractionally through the blockchain. 

Centrifuge: Centrifuge is a DeFi veteran that brings real-world credit onto the blockchain via liquidity pools. Businesses can finance assets through tokenized debt pools.

Dinari: Dinari tokenizes real-world equities and allows users to buy fractional shares of publicly traded companies backed by 1:1 custodial holdings. 

DigiFT: A regulated exchange for tokenized securities that offers primary issuance and secondary trading. The Singapore-based exchange collaborated with Invesco to tokenize its U.S. Senior Loan Strategy fund (the iSNR token).

DeFi Native 

Gains Network: A synthetic trading platform that enables users to long or short various assets, including crypto, forex, commodities and real-world price feeds.

Ostium: Ositum is a protocol that allows minting synthetic assets backed by real-world asset collateral, such as tokenized Treasuries and stablecoins. 

Disclaimer. The references and information regarding each project and their respective offerings are provided solely for informational purposes. This article is not, and should not be construed as, an endorsement or recommendation of any of such projects nor their offerings.