The scale of the first U.S. Treasury asset tokenization fund has exceeded US$5 billion, triggering a wave of RWA (real world asset) financing

Contributor

Lydia Zhou , Chief Reporter of Chain Capital Market

1. What is OUTF? Why is it growing so fast?

• Fund structure : Launched by investment advisor WisdomTree in cooperation with on-chain custodian bank Anchorage Digital, the underlying fund is 100% allocated to 3-month US Treasury bills.

• Token standard : Issue ERC-1400 compliant security token $OUTF, which can be circulated across the Ethereum mainnet and Layer-2 Arbitrum.

• User profile : 70% of the funds come from European and American hedge funds and DAO treasuries, and 30% are family offices and US/Asian retail investors.

The 18-month AUM curve has soared from US$100 million to US$5 billion, setting a record for the growth rate of public chain securitization products. The on-chain block browser data shows that $OUTF has an average of more than 4,000 on-chain transactions per day, and its liquidity is better than that of traditional MMFs (money market funds) of the same size.

2. Three major attractions of RWA

A Goldman Sachs report predicts that by 2030, the global tokenization of alternative government bonds and corporate bonds may reach US$5 trillion.

3. Compliance Breakthrough: SEC's "Tokenized Securities Exemption" Pilot

The SEC passed the "Class T" exemption regulations at the end of 2024, allowing qualified on-chain funds to skip the Reg D private placement lock-up period within a limited amount and issue directly to qualified investors. OUTF became one of the first to take the plunge.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler:
“If tokenization can ensure that KYC/AML, custody and information disclosure are equivalent to or even better than the traditional system, we welcome innovation to enter the regulatory sandbox.”

IV. Risks and Doubts

1. On-chain security : Smart contract vulnerabilities and private key loss are still core risks; OUTF purchases on-chain insurance in full and adopts MPC multi-signature custody.

2. Secondary compliance : The secondary market for tokens must be traded on a SEC-compliant ATS (alternative trading system), but some retail investors still hold them indirectly through DEX, and the compliance gray area needs to be clarified.

3. Yield curve : Once the U.S. Treasury yields rise sharply, the fund will face token price discounts or even liquidity runs.

5. Derivative Innovation: Diffusion Effect of RWA Track

• Short-term debt + repurchase combination : Franklin Templeton launched the "on-chain repurchase pool" to pledge government bonds to market makers, with daily returns higher than OUTF.

• Commodity tokenization : CME and Paxos pilot "USD-denominated gold ETF tokens" to achieve 1:1 redemption on the chain.

• Carbon credit bonds : The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) promotes the tokenization of VCM (voluntary carbon market) bonds for carbon offsetting in aviation and shipping.

VI. Market Prospects and Regulatory Outlook

Morgan Stanley predicts that the compound annual growth rate of on-chain treasury bond funds will reach 85% from 2025 to 2027. However, cross-chain clearing standards, tax collection methods and FATF travel rules remain key obstacles.

Boston Consulting Group:
“Whoever can find a balance between compliance and high efficiency on the chain will have the key to the door to the $100 trillion traditional bond market.”

Conclusion

The $5 billion milestone is just the starting point. Lydia Zhou pointed out: "The surge in RWA is not only reshaping the fixed income market, but also injecting the foundation of 'risk-free interest rate' into on-chain finance. In the next stage, tokenized treasury bonds will become the value anchor of the DeFi ecosystem like stablecoins."