The RWA market is gaining momentum: Grvt strengthens its position in USDY by $100 million, and Coinbase establishes itself in Abu Dhabi
The real-world asset (RWA) tokenization sector continues to demonstrate explosive growth, and recent developments clearly confirm this. Hybrid CeDeFi platform Grvt has announced a strategic partnership with tokenized asset issuer Ondo Finance. Under the agreement, the exchange plans to grow its position in the USDY token to $100 million over the next twelve months.
Partnership Mechanics and Yield Appeal
The key element of the deal is the integration of an annual percentage yield (APY) of 3.5% into the existing Grvt Earn product. This rate will be added to other income sources users already receive, including rewards from the integration with the Aave protocol. Essentially, the platform is enhancing its liquidity provision reward mechanism: clients make a deposit and immediately begin earning passive income backed by real assets.
At the time of analysis, according to my data, Ondo Finance's total assets under management (AUM) stand at approximately $2.59 billion. The portfolio structure looks as follows:
- USDY — $2.1 billion, deployed across 8 networks;
- OUSG — $500 million, a product for qualified investors from the United States.
USDY, as a reminder, is an instrument backed by short-term U.S. Treasury bonds and bank deposits. Grvt's planned position of $100 million would represent about 3.8% of the current AUM of this token, making the exchange one of the largest holders of the product.
Infrastructural Shift in DeFi
This partnership is not just another deal but a marker of an important trend. Tokenized Treasury bonds are ceasing to be a niche investment product and are becoming a foundational infrastructure layer for DeFi platforms. For Ondo, this is also an elegant solution to the distribution problem—the main bottleneck in scaling USDY. Instead of directly reaching the retail market, the issuer gains access to Grvt's audience through the Earn integration.
As a reminder, Grvt operates on the ZKsync L2 solution. The project raised $19 million in a Series A round in September 2025, and the TGE of the GRVT token took place on July 30, 2026.
Coinbase: Expansion into the Middle East
In parallel, another industry giant, Coinbase, is strengthening its position in the RWA segment outside the United States. On August 11, the company announced the opening of an international tokenization hub in Abu Dhabi. The decision became possible after obtaining a financial services license from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
The new division will focus on offering digital securities backed by underlying equities. This is a logical step amid growing demand from traditional financial institutions, which are actively moving funds, bonds, and private credit instruments onto blockchain rails. Key advantages include 24/7 asset transfer, instant settlement of transactions, and the ability to use these securities as collateral in on-chain protocols.
With the opening of the Abu Dhabi hub, Coinbase now has two base locations in the UAE: the new platform will operate in parallel with its derivatives business in Dubai. This creates a solid foundation for international expansion bypassing the American market.
My view: we are witnessing the convergence of traditional finance and DeFi. Steps like those taken by Grvt and Coinbase confirm that RWA is not a speculative story but a fundamental trend that will shape the industry's development in the coming years. The only question is who will manage to secure the best positions before the market becomes truly competitive.