The RWA market is gaining momentum: Grvt expands its position in USDY by $100 million, Coinbase opens a tokenization hub in Abu Dhabi
The CeDeFi platform Grvt, which combines centralized and decentralized financial mechanisms, has announced a strategic partnership with tokenized asset issuer Ondo Finance. Over the next twelve months, the exchange intends to grow its position in the USDY product to $100 million. This is not just a speculative bet, but a deliberate move to integrate institutional U.S. Treasury bonds into its Grvt Earn yield program.
The base yield of 3.5% per annum (APY) will be organically embedded into the platform's existing rewards model, which already includes integration with the Aave protocol. In essence, Grvt is creating a hybrid mechanism: users earn passive income by providing liquidity, while the platform itself uses tokenized US Treasuries as a reliable and liquid instrument to back that yield.
The scale of Ondo Finance and Grvt's position
According to data from the analytics platform RWA.xyz, Ondo Finance's total assets under management (AUM) reach approximately $2.59 billion. Key products are distributed as follows:
- USDY — $2.1 billion, deployed across eight blockchain networks;
- OUSG — $500 million, available only to qualified U.S. investors.
USDY is a tokenized instrument backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries and bank deposits. Grvt's planned $100 million position would account for about 3.8% of USDY's current AUM — a significant share that could impact liquidity and market dynamics.
Notably, tokenized Treasury bonds are no longer just an investment product for hedge funds. They are becoming foundational infrastructure for DeFi platforms, solving the "distribution" problem — a key bottleneck in scaling RWA. For Ondo, the integration with Grvt Earn is an elegant way to expand reach without directly entering the retail market, which requires significant compliance and marketing costs.
Grvt, built on the ZKsync L2 solution, raised $19 million in a Series A round in September 2025 and conducted the TGE of its GRVT token on July 30, 2026. It is a young but ambitious player clearly targeting the institutional segment.
Coinbase and the geopolitics of tokenization
In parallel, the crypto exchange Coinbase is expanding its geographic footprint. On August 11, the company's management announced the opening of an international tokenization hub in Abu Dhabi. The financial services license obtained from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market will allow Coinbase to offer digital securities backed by underlying equities.
This move is not an isolated decision but part of a global trend. Traditional asset managers and banks are actively moving funds, bonds, and private credit instruments onto blockchain rails. The technology promises to simplify round-the-clock transfer of securities, enable instant settlement of trades, and open up the possibility of using these assets as collateral in on-chain markets.
The new Abu Dhabi division will operate in parallel with Coinbase's derivatives business in Dubai. Thus, the company is establishing two strategic footholds in the UAE for expansion beyond the U.S. market. This is especially important amid regulatory uncertainty in the United States. Separately, I note that Ondo Finance recently saw an internal conflict over control of the project following the founder's death, adding an element of instability to this rapidly growing sector.
My view: the RWA market is moving toward consolidation. The integration of tokenized Treasury bonds into DeFi protocols and Coinbase's parallel opening of hubs in the Middle East are two symptoms of the same condition: the crypto industry is desperately seeking legitimate, institutional bridges to traditional finance. The only question is who will manage to secure key niches before regulators finally define the rules of the game.