Crypto news

The real-world asset (RWA) tokenization sector continues to consolidate, and recent events clearly confirm this. Hybrid CeDeFi platform Grvt has announced a strategic partnership with issuer Ondo Finance: within the next twelve months, the exchange intends to grow its position in the tokenized product USDY to $100 million. This is not just a speculative bet, but a systematic step toward integrating institutional instruments into retail infrastructure.

As part of this initiative, an annual yield (APY) of 3.5% will be embedded into the base rate of the Grvt Earn product. Users already earn yield by providing liquidity, and now this model is being enhanced with U.S. Treasury bonds. In essence, the platform is creating a hybrid mechanism where passive income is generated both from DeFi protocols (e.g., integration with Aave) and from traditional money market instruments.

Ondo Finance's scale is impressive: total assets under management (AUM) stand at approximately $2.59 billion. The bulk of this comes from USDY — $2.1 billion distributed across eight networks, while OUSG (available only to qualified U.S. investors) accumulates $500 million. Grvt's planned $100 million position is roughly 3.8% of USDY's current AUM, making the exchange one of the significant holders of this asset.

This partnership is a vivid indicator of market maturity. Tokenized Treasury bonds are ceasing to be a niche product and are becoming a foundational infrastructure layer for DeFi platforms. For Ondo, this solves a key distribution problem: instead of going directly to retail, the company gains access to Grvt's user base, saving resources and expanding reach. In turn, Grvt strengthens its status as a platform offering institutional-grade yields.

Grvt operates on the ZKsync L2 network. It's worth recalling that in September 2025, the project raised $19 million in a Series A round, and on July 30, 2026, the TGE of the GRVT token took place. This is a young but ambitious player that is clearly striving to carve out its niche at the intersection of CeFi and DeFi.

In parallel, Coinbase continues its international expansion. On August 11, the company announced the opening of a tokenization hub in Abu Dhabi, having obtained a license from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the International Financial Center. The plan is to issue digital securities backed by underlying shares. This is a strategic move that will allow Coinbase to offer investors outside the U.S. on-chain access to traditional assets, bypassing the excessive regulatory barriers of the American market.

The new division will operate in conjunction with Coinbase's derivatives business in Dubai, forming two anchor points in the UAE. This is an obvious signal: the Emirates are becoming a global tokenization hub, attracting the industry's largest players. Against this backdrop, it's also worth noting that Ondo Finance itself previously experienced corporate conflicts related to project governance after the founder's death, which adds a certain volatility to the company's development story.

My view: The moves by Grvt and Coinbase are not just isolated deals but confirmation of a long-term trend. Tokenization is no longer an experiment and is becoming mainstream. The key question now is not "if" but "how quickly" traditional finance will fully integrate with on-chain infrastructure. Investors should closely monitor these processes, as they are shaping a new landscape for the capital market.