The RWA market is gaining momentum: Grvt builds a $100 million position in USDY, while Coinbase establishes a presence 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 $100 million. This is not just a number—it is a signal that institutional players are beginning to view RWA instruments not as an experimental asset, but as a full-fledged element of their financial infrastructure.
The mechanics of the collaboration are as follows: an annual yield (APY) of 3.5% will be integrated into the base rate of Grvt Earn. Platform users already receive rewards for providing liquidity, including through integration with Aave. Now this income will be enhanced by the U.S. Treasury bonds underlying USDY. In effect, Grvt is creating a synthetic instrument that combines the advantages of DeFi yield with the reliability of traditional government securities.
The scale of the position is impressive. According to my data, Ondo's total assets under management (AUM) amount to approximately $2.59 billion. The bulk of this comes from USDY—$2.1 billion distributed across eight networks. The OUSG product, available only to qualified U.S. investors, accumulates an additional $500 million. Thus, Grvt's planned position is equivalent to roughly 3.8% of USDY's current AUM—a substantial share that could noticeably impact market liquidity.
More than just an investment
This partnership goes beyond simple capital deployment. For Ondo Finance, it solves a key distribution problem that has long been a bottleneck for scaling USDY. The integration with Grvt Earn allows for expanding the product's reach without the need for direct retail market entry, which requires significant resources and compliance with strict regulatory standards. For Grvt, operating on the ZKsync L2 solution, this is an opportunity to strengthen its position. Recall that 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, Coinbase is making a bold move on the geopolitical front. The company has received approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market and is opening its international tokenization hub there. This is not just an office—it is a licensed venue for offering digital securities backed by underlying shares. Combined with its derivatives business in Dubai, this gives Coinbase two powerful footholds in the UAE, enabling it to operate effectively in markets outside the U.S.
We are witnessing a tectonic shift: tokenized Treasury bonds are transforming from a niche investment product into an infrastructure layer for the entire DeFi ecosystem. Global asset managers and banks are actively moving funds, bonds, and even private credit onto blockchain rails. Proponents of the technology rightly note that this simplifies round-the-clock transfer of securities and ensures near-instant settlement of transactions. Ultimately, this is a path toward using traditional assets as collateral in on-chain markets.
My view: Grvt's ambitious $100 million goal is just the tip of the iceberg. We stand on the threshold of RWA becoming a bridge between traditional finance and DeFi, and those who claim this niche now will gain a colossal advantage in the coming years. However, one should not forget the risks: the recent conflict at Ondo Finance over control of the project after the founder's death reminds us that even the most promising projects are vulnerable to internal strife.