Swiss tokenization company, Backed Finance, has broadened its tokenized short-term U.S. Treasury offerings to the Base blockchain of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, as announced in a press statement on Friday.
This move signifies the debut of a real-world asset token on the Base network, a network that also accommodates the well-known social token platform, Friend.Tech.
Regulated under Switzerland's tokenized securities legislation, the bIB01 crypto token from Backed represents a blockchain rendition of BlackRock's short-term U.S. Treasuries ETF, providing a 5.25% yearly return for investors. This offering is accessible only to certified investors and authorized dealers who have cleared the company's KYC and AML screenings. Purchases of this token are off-limits for U.S. investors and entities.
The act of turning tangible assets (like government bonds, private equity, or credit) into digital tokens and registering them on blockchains — known as real-world asset (RWA) tokenization — has emerged as a leading trend in the crypto domain this year. As per a report by Boston Consulting Group, the tokenized asset market has the potential to surge to a whopping $16 trillion by 2030.
Given their attractive yield combined with low risk, U.S. Treasuries are becoming a focal point for tokenization endeavors. They're attracting a wide audience including digital asset investors, crypto businesses, fund managers, and DAOs. In fact, the value of the tokenized treasuries sector has multiplied six times over the year, reaching $666 million. Notably, Franklin Templeton, an asset management company, stands out as the major contender in this space, as per data from rwa.xyz.
Emphasizing the advantages of the Base expansion, Backed stated that Base presents an economical and developer-friendly environment for blockchain development. Moreover, despite its compatibility with Ethereum, transactions on Base are substantially more affordable, costing a tenth of Ethereum's fees.
