VanEck Launches $100,000 Minimum Tokenized US Treasury Fund

VanEck, a prominent investment firm, has announced the launch of its first tokenized real-world asset (RWA) fund, named VBILL. This fund will provide investors with exposure to US Treasury bills and will be available on multiple blockchains, including Avalanche, BNB Chain, Ethereum, and Solana. The minimum subscription for investments on Avalanche, BNB Chain, and Solana is set at $100,000, while the minimum for Ethereum is $1 million. This initiative positions VanEck as a key player in the growing trend of traditional finance firms entering the RWA tokenization space.

VanEck's move into RWA tokenization follows a similar trend seen among other major financial institutions. Competitors such as BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have already launched their own RWA tokenized funds, and in January, Apollo, an investment firm with significant assets under management, introduced a private credit tokenized fund. The market for tokenized US Treasurys, with a market capitalization of $6.9 billion, is one of the largest asset classes in this space, second only to private credit.

VanEck has partnered with Securitize, a leading tokenization platform, to develop the VBILL fund. Securitize has a proven track record, having tokenized over $3.9 billion in assets. In May 2024, Securitize secured $47 million in a strategic funding round led by BlackRock, further solidifying its position in the market. The collaboration between VanEck and Securitize underscores the growing interest and investment in the tokenization of real-world assets.

The tokenization of real-world assets offers several advantages over traditional finance systems. These benefits include faster settlement times and increased liquidity for previously illiquid assets. Advocates of tokenization argue that these features can revolutionize the way securities are issued, traded, and owned, much like how the transition from analog to digital audio transformed the music industry. The migration to onchain securities has the potential to enable entirely new methods of issuing, trading, owning, and using securities, fostering novel market activities that current regulations may not fully address.

This development comes at a time when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is actively exploring the potential of blockchain technology in the securities market. SEC Chair Paul Atkins has compared the shift to onchain securities to the digital revolution in the music industry, highlighting the transformative potential of blockchain technology. Atkins noted that blockchain holds the promise of enabling a broad range of new use cases for securities, which could lead to innovative market activities that are not currently contemplated by existing regulations.