Realize T-BILLS Fund Launches as the First Tokenized T-Bills Fund in ADGM

Realize
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TL;DR:
Realize is tokenizing the first directly tokenized T-Bills Fund in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), combining regulatory compliance with secure on-chain accessibility. Initially launching on Ethereum and IOTA, the fund offers accredited investors enhanced liquidity, yield, and decentralized access to U.S. Treasury Bills, backed by the stability of U.S. Government securities. In the future, investors will gain the ability to use tokenized assets as collateral for yield-generating DeFi strategies, opening up new financial opportunities. Realize is actively expanding its ecosystem with strategic partners and exploring future tokenized fund options. With demand for tokenized real-world assets on the rise, Realize is set to redefine investment opportunities in traditional and decentralized finance.

Realize, a real-world asset tokenization platform, is tokenizing Realize T-BILLS Fund (OEIC) Limited (the Fund) managed by Neovision Wealth Management Limited (Neovision), the first ever directly tokenized T-Bills Fund in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), offering fully decentralized transferability and regulatory clarity. The Fund is underscoring the region’s pioneering role in a solid, secure and market-leading regulatory environment to advance real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.

Key highlights of the Fund and the underlying asset:

  • U.S. Treasury Bills with short-term maturities of 3 months or less, offering safe and stable yield to token holders.
  • The Fund partakes in direct tokenization, reducing the need for complicated engagements and opaque ownership structures. Each token on the Blockchain represents legal ownership in the actual fund.  
  • The Fund is significantly more economical viable for investors:
    • 0% management fee
    • 0% performance fee
    • 0% tokenization fee, with an option to charge 10 bps post $100 million AUM
  • The Fund is managed by Neovision with Ascent Group as Fund Administrator with Realize Technology Solutions Limited providing technical services, a veteran team of 30+ people with experience in building and deploying DeFi protocols and building Web3 ecosystems.

As the first tokenized U.S. Treasury Bill Fund to launch out of Abu Dhabi Global Market, the Realize T-BILLS Fund provides investors with an institutional grade investment offering with the highest standards in compliance, safety and legal protection.

Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief Market Development Officer, ADGM said, “We welcome the launch of the Realize T-BILLS Fund in ADGM, an important initiative in asset tokenization that underscores our commitment to innovation. As a tokenized investment fund adhering to stringent regulatory standards, it positions the international financial centre of Abu Dhabi as a global leader in real-world asset tokenization. We look forward to their contribution to our vibrant ecosystem.”


As a platform facilitating the tokenization of RWAs, Realize empowers investors with enhanced liquidity, instantaneous and transparent settlement, and, in the future, access to more profitable on-chain yield opportunities than traditional finance systems provide.

Realize will initially launch on Ethereum and IOTA. Ethereum, the leading platform for decentralized applications, offers robust smart contract functionality and a large developer community. IOTA, established in 2015, provides efficient, secure token transfers and supports a growing DeFi ecosystem on its newly launched L2 network IOTA EVM. We are also exploring additional networks for future expansion.

Demand for tokenized RWAs is rapidly increasing within both the decentralized finance user base and the traditional finance industry. Realize offers accredited investors a seamless experience for onboarding, subscription, and redemption. The platform’s upcoming Web3 ecosystem will provide unparalleled opportunities to utilize tokenized assets as collateral and earn additional yield.

Initial offering

The initial product to be launched by Realize is a tokenized U.S. Treasury Bill Fund currently offering 4.36% APY on-chain (rates variable).

Providing T-Bills on the blockchain is attractive as the investment is backed by the U.S. Government, one of the safest investment options available. With short-term maturities and fixed interest payments, they provide investors with liquidity, flexibility, and predictable income. Their high market liquidity and role in portfolio diversification make them valuable assets, especially during market volatility or economic uncertainty.

Key Innovations of the Fund


Direct tokenization of fund shares

Direct tokenisation is where the securities of the fund are directly tokenized, ie, instead of an issuance of participating shares in a fund, the fund issues security tokens which would then be traded on a platform. The Fund is managed by the Fund Manager in the same manner a traditional fund would. Each $RBILL token represents direct and legal ownership into the Realize T-BILLS fund.

Some of the key benefits of this structure are:

  • Reduction of complexity
  • Less operational risks
  • Increased investor protection
  • Faster and easier issuance and redemption
  • Real-time settlement on blockchain
  • Counterparty risk reduced against a regulated investment fund
  • Direct claim on assets in the fund, rather than in synthetic indirect tokenization structures

In stark contrast, indirect tokenization involves the fund operating as a more traditional vehicle, issuing participating shares as part of an investment round. These shares are typically subscribed to by a single entity (often offshore), referred to as the Custodian. The Custodian then issues tokens that provide contractual rights to the underlying assets it holds, with investors receiving tokens representing their interests in the ‘Fund.’ However, since the Custodian remains the participating shareholder, the tokenization may fall outside the scope of securities and fund regulations in the fund’s jurisdiction. This results in reduced oversight, higher operational costs, and the introduction of unknown risks for investors.

0% Management fees and 0% Performance fees

Due to its pioneering direct tokenization model, the operational costs of the Fund are significantly lower compared to competing structures. This enables the Fund Manager to pass on these savings to investors. The Fund will not have any management fee and no performance fee.

The Fund Manager reserves the right to introduce a potential 0.1% tokenization fee once the Fund reaches $100M AUM. However, depending on the success and demand of the product, this fee may be further reduced or waived.

DeFi opportunities

In the future investors will have the unique opportunity to leverage various possibilities through Realize's trusted decentralized finance partners, including utilizing tokenized assets as collateral for efficient borrowing and exploring lending strategies. Additionally, investors can benefit from seamless transfers, while also exploring options to increase their yield within Decentralized Finance. We will explore this broad DeFi ecosystem in a separate blog post soon.

Realize has identified additional tokenized funds connected to real-world assets that we plan to launch in the near future, and we are open to exploring RWA deployments with other portfolio managers. 

Market growth

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) forecasts that the market for tokenized digital assets will reach $16 to $68 trillion by 2030. This projection underscores the significant potential of tokenisation to revolutionize various asset classes.

Given the team's extensive expertise in traditional and decentralized finance and their strong network of partners, Realize is perfectly positioned to benefit from this emerging market.

Strategic partners

Realize’s compliant approach is fortified by a robust network of regional connections and global partners:

Neovision – Fund Manager
Neovision Wealth Management Ltd. is the Fund Manager of Realize, licensed by the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority. The management team has over two decades of experience in investment research, asset allocation, portfolio construction, and fund management.

Addleshaw Goddard – International and ADGM Legal Counsel
Addleshaw Goddard, headquartered in London, is a leading law firm with nearly 100 lawyers in the Middle East. It is recognized for expertise in funds, corporate/M&A, TMT, and finance. Addleshaw Goddard is the Fund’s legal council and instrumental in guiding Realize and Neovision through the regulatory and legal landscape in establishing the first tokenized T-Bills Fund in ADGM. 

Ascent – Administrator
Ascent is a global fund administrator providing customized solutions to asset managers, capital markets, family offices, investors, and private clients. Ascent manages all daily operations of our regulated fund, including investor onboarding and offboarding, regulatory and statutory reporting, investor communications, and maintaining accurate records.

Grant Thornton – Auditor
Grant Thornton is one of the world's largest professional services network of independent accounting and consulting member firms that provide assurance, tax and advisory services to privately held businesses, public interest entities, and public sector entities. 

Nakama – Technical Advisor
Nakama, established in 2022 as a Web3 venture fund, has developed leading decentralized applications within the IOTA and Web3 ecosystem. With over 25 team members, Nakama takes a leading role in developing the tokenization dApp of Realize. 

Pulsar Group – Strategic Partner
Pulsar Group is a high growth tech innovator and strategic advisor partnering with leading companies in the UAE and around the world.

Swissquote MEA Ltd – Custodian
Swissquote is a DIFC entity, regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (the DFSA), offering custody and execution of equities, ETFs, securities, funds, amongst other asset classes. The Custodian is a wholly owned subsidiary of Swissquote Bank SA, one of the largest online banks in Switzerland with total assets of CHF 68 Billion. Swissquote Bank is in turn regulated by FINMA.

We are excited to launch Realize and will be sharing regular updates on our progress and developments. Join us and be a part of our exciting journey:

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Written by Realize