RWA race accelerates: Grvt strengthens its USDY position to $100M, while Coinbase establishes a foothold in Abu Dhabi
The real-world asset (RWA) tokenization sector continues to demonstrate explosive growth, and recent developments only confirm this. Hybrid CeDeFi platform Grvt has announced a strategic partnership with issuer Ondo Finance. Over the next twelve months, the exchange intends to grow its position in the tokenized product USDY to an impressive $100 million.
Collaboration mechanics and a bet on institutional yield
The key element of the deal is the integration of an annual percentage yield (APY) of 3.5% into the base rate of the Grvt Earn product. This is not just a marketing move, but deep synergy: the platform combines yield from tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds with existing sources of passive income, including integration with the Aave protocol. In essence, Grvt is building a unified "yield aggregator" for users, where client liquidity works at maximum efficiency.
Currently, Ondo Finance's total assets under management (AUM) stand at approximately $2.59 billion. The portfolio structure is as follows:
- USDY — $2.1 billion, deployed across eight networks;
- OUSG — $500 million, a product available exclusively to qualified U.S. investors.
Grvt's planned position of $100 million represents roughly 3.8% of USDY's current AUM. This is a serious commitment that transforms the exchange from a mere protocol user into one of the token's key holders.
Why this matters for the entire ecosystem
This partnership is a vivid marker of a paradigm shift. Tokenized Treasury bonds are no longer just a "safe haven" for conservative investors. They are becoming an infrastructure layer for DeFi platforms, offering institutional reliability as a base asset for yield strategies. For Ondo, this solves a critical distribution problem: instead of an expensive push into the retail market, the company gains access to Grvt's audience through B2B integration.
Grvt, built on the ZKsync L2 solution, is no newcomer to raising capital: in September 2025, the platform closed a Series A round of $19 million, and on July 30, 2026, it conducted the TGE of its GRVT token. This shows that the project has the resources for ambitious financial maneuvers.
Coinbase chooses Abu Dhabi
In parallel, American giant Coinbase is betting on the Middle East. The company has officially announced the opening of an international tokenization hub in Abu Dhabi. After obtaining a license from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the International Financial Centre, the exchange plans to offer digital securities backed by underlying equities.
This is a logical step amid the tokenization boom in the TradFi sector. Major banks and asset management firms are actively moving funds and bonds onto blockchain rails, seeing this as a way to accelerate settlements and make assets liquid 24/7. The new hub will operate in conjunction with Coinbase's derivatives business in Dubai, giving the company two strong footholds in the UAE for expansion beyond the United States.
My take: we are witnessing market consolidation. Deals like Grvt's not only increase protocol TVL but also set a precedent for other CeDeFi platforms. If the "Treasury bonds + DeFi yield" model proves sustainable, we can expect a new wave of institutional capital that previously avoided on-chain markets due to volatility.