RWA market is gaining momentum: Grvt expands its position in USDY by $100 million, Coinbase establishes itself in Abu Dhabi
The real-world asset (RWA) tokenization sector continues to demonstrate explosive growth, and recent events 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 $100 million. This is not just a number — it is a signal that institutional players are beginning to perceive RWA instruments as a full-fledged asset class for liquidity management.
The mechanics of the partnership are as follows: an annual yield (APY) of 3.5% will be integrated into the base rate that users already receive through the Grvt Earn product. At the same time, the platform is not limited to a single source of income — it also uses an integration with Aave. In essence, we are observing a classic liquidity provision reward model: the client makes a deposit and begins earning passive income, while the platform uses these funds for operations in the treasury market.
According to current RWA.xyz data, Ondo Finance's total assets under management (AUM) amount to 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. Treasuries and bank deposits. Grvt's planned position of $100 million will account for about 3.8% of the current USDY AUM — this is a substantial share that could impact the product's liquidity.
Notably, this partnership solves two problems at once. For Grvt, it is diversification of yield and strengthening its position in a rapidly growing segment. For Ondo, it is a solution to the distribution problem, which has long been a bottleneck in scaling USDY. Instead of directly entering the retail market, the issuer gains access to Grvt's user base through the Earn product.
It is worth noting that 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. The project is clearly in an active scaling phase.
In parallel, Coinbase is making an important step in international expansion. The exchange's management has announced the opening of a tokenization hub in Abu Dhabi after receiving a license from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the International Financial Center. The platform intends to use this permission to offer digital securities backed by underlying equities.
This decision reflects a global trend: traditional financial institutions are actively moving funds, bonds, and stocks onto blockchain rails. Key advantages include 24/7 asset transfer, instant settlement of transactions, and the ability to use securities as collateral in on-chain markets.
The new division in Abu Dhabi will operate in parallel with Coinbase's derivatives business in Dubai. Thus, the company is establishing two strategic footholds in the UAE to expand its presence beyond the American market.
My analysis: Tokenized Treasury bonds are rapidly transforming from a niche investment product into an infrastructure layer for the entire DeFi ecosystem. The actions of Grvt and Coinbase are not just isolated deals but part of a systemic process in which RWAs are becoming a bridge between traditional finance and the on-chain economy. I expect that in the coming quarters we will see similar moves from other major players seeking to capture a share of this rapidly growing market.