Abu Dhabi Firms Launch Blockchain-Based Fund for Tokenized U.S. Treasury ETFs

Abu Dhabi-based companies Realize and Neovision Wealth Management have introduced the Realize T-BILLS Fund, a new investment vehicle designed to tokenize U.S. Treasury-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The fund will acquire units from BlackRock’s iShares and State Street’s SPDR ETFs, converting them into digital tokens for storage, trade, and transfer on blockchain networks. The Realize T-BILLS Fund aims to reach a total fund size of $200 million, according to Dominik Schiener, co-founder of Realize.

The Realize T-BILLS Fund represents a shift toward blockchain-based investment management, with its $RBILL tokens providing digital representations of fund units. These tokens, launched initially on the IOTA and Ethereum blockchains, will enable holders to access a digitized form of U.S. Treasury ETFs, traditionally seen as low-risk, high-liquidity assets.

Schiener highlighted the liquidity and stability of Treasury bills, noting their function as reliable collateral, with current yields around 5%. “The goal is to bring fungible assets on-chain,” Schiener explained. “T-Bills are the most liquid asset today in the real world, and they’re also the best form of collateral.”

Dr. Ryan Lemand, CEO and co-founder of Neovision, explained that tokenizing ETF units was a more cost-effective approach than direct Treasury bill purchases, which would require continuous reinvestment and incur transaction costs. By tokenizing ETFs instead, the fund can maintain exposure to Treasury bills with greater efficiency and lower operational expenses.

The Realize T-BILLS Fund is the first tokenized fund to be launched within the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) regulatory framework, marking a milestone in the region’s embrace of digital finance. This fund also aligns with a broader industry trend toward tokenization of traditional financial assets. Earlier this year, BlackRock launched its first tokenized fund, BUIDL, on Ethereum, which includes U.S. Treasury bills and repurchase agreements, and has a market cap of approximately $530 million.

With its strategy focused on bringing real-world assets on-chain, Realize aims to offer a practical and compliant digital asset solution to global investors seeking to leverage the liquidity and stability of U.S. Treasury assets in a tokenized format.

Image by Jakub David from Unsplash

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