Ripple is expanding the utility of its XRP Ledger (XRPL) by offering tokenized US Treasury bills (T-bills) onto the platform. The significant move is a part of Ripple’s partnership with OpenEden, a leading provider of tokenized real-world assets (RWA).
News alert – tokenization platform @OpenEden_Labs is bringing tokenized US Treasury bills (T-bills) to the #XRPL! What’s more, Ripple is creating a fund to invest in tokenized T-bills, and will allocate USD$10M to OpenEden’s TBILL tokens as part of it. https://t.co/8GsG1Mk3ER
— RippleX (@RippleXDev) August 1, 2024
Announced Wednesday, the collaboration would bring short-term US government debt obligation, backed by the Department of Treasury, to XRPL users. Further, it paves way for broader institutional adoption of decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions
“The tokenization of T-bills onto the XRPL is a demonstration of how institutional access to DeFi is being driven by the tokenization of traditional RWAs,” the official release read.
Data tracked by 21.co shows that more than $1 billion in Treasury bills has been tokenized through public blockchains like Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, Stellar and others.
Ripple Allocates $10M into TBILL Tokens
Ripple also said that it will invest $10 million into OpenEden’s TBILL tokens, which are backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries. The investment will be a part of a larger fund that Ripple aims to allocate to OpenEden’s tokenized T-bills.
The investment also signifies Ripple’s trust in OpenEden’s approach to tokenizing RWAs to drive utility and new opportunities, Markus Infanger, senior VP at RippleX, noted.
“Institutions are increasingly looking at where to tokenize their real-world assets and the arrival of T-bills on the XRPL powered by OpenEden reinforces the decentralized Layer 1 blockchain as one of the leading blockchains for real-world asset tokenization.”
OpenEden Attracts Institutional Investor Traction
The release noted that OpenEden has already crossed $75 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) for its T-bill tokens. This has garnered strong institutional interest.
It is also the first tokenized US Treasury product that received an investment-grade “A” rating from Moody’s.
Jeremy Ng, co-founder of OpenEden said that the platform has attracted a wide range of institutional clients. This includes foundations, corporate treasuries, and buy-side funds.
“Bringing tokenized T-bills to the XRP Ledger is the next step in our exciting journey. Purchasers will be able to mint our TBILL tokens via stablecoins, including Ripple USD when it launches later this year.”
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