The RWA market is gaining momentum: Grvt expands its position in USDY to $100 million, Coinbase opens a tokenization hub in Abu Dhabi
Institutional interest in tokenized real-world assets (RWA) continues to intensify, and recent developments clearly confirm this. Grvt, a hybrid CeDeFi platform combining elements of centralized and decentralized finance, has announced a strategic partnership with RWA product issuer Ondo Finance. Over the next twelve months, the exchange intends to grow its position in the tokenized USDY instrument to $100 million.
Yield on these assets will be integrated into a single base rate that users already receive through the Grvt Earn product, including rewards from the integration with the Aave protocol. Essentially, the platform incentivizes clients for providing liquidity: after making a deposit, a participant automatically begins earning passive income.
According to current data from the analytics platform RWA.xyz, Ondo Finance's total assets under management (AUM) stand at approximately $2.59 billion. This capital is distributed across two key products:
- USDY — $2.1 billion, deployed across eight networks;
- OUSG — $500 million, available exclusively to qualified investors from the United States.
USDY is a tokenized instrument backed by short-term U.S. Treasury bonds and bank deposits. Grvt's planned position of $100 million would represent roughly 3.8% of USDY's current AUM — a significant share capable of influencing the product's dynamics.
This partnership is a vivid indicator of a broader trend: tokenized Treasury bonds are ceasing to be merely an investment tool and are becoming foundational infrastructure for DeFi platforms. For Ondo, this also addresses a key distribution challenge that has long been a bottleneck in scaling USDY. The integration with Grvt Earn is an elegant way to expand reach without the need for direct retail market exposure.
Grvt operates on the ZKsync L2 solution. In September 2025, the platform raised $19 million in a Series A round, and on July 30, 2026, the GRVT token TGE took place.
In parallel, another major player in the RWA segment, the Coinbase exchange, is strengthening its position on the international stage. On August 11, the company's management announced the opening of a tokenization hub in Abu Dhabi after obtaining a financial services license from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market. The new entity is expected to offer digital securities backed by underlying equities.
This move comes amid the rapid growth of tokenization's popularity among traditional financial institutions. The largest asset managers and banks are actively moving funds, bonds, and private credit instruments onto blockchain rails. Proponents of the technology emphasize that it simplifies round-the-clock transfer of securities, enables near-instant settlement of transactions, and opens new opportunities for using assets as collateral in on-chain markets.
The new Abu Dhabi division will operate in parallel with Coinbase's derivatives business in Dubai, thus forming two strategic footholds in the UAE for expansion beyond the American market.
My take on the situation
We are witnessing the convergence of two worlds: traditional finance is seeking efficient ways to enter the blockchain, while DeFi platforms need reliable, institutional-grade assets to scale. The actions of Grvt and Coinbase are not just isolated deals but a signal of the formation of a new infrastructure layer. In the coming quarters, competition for liquidity in the RWA segment will only intensify, and those who are first to build bridges between CeFi and DeFi will gain a significant advantage.