The US capital coin leads the rise, reviewing 18 token projects associated with traditional asset management firms like BlackRock
Empowering traditional finance and gaining support from asset management giants may be one of the most certain directions.Author: flowie, ChainCatcher
Editor: Nianqing, ChainCatcher
The key driving force behind this bull market that started in 2024 is the traditional financial asset management giants led by BlackRock.
Recently, the altcoin season has begun, with traditional financial giants focusing on sectors like RWA and payments leading the charge. Tokens closely related to traditional asset management giants such as BlackRock, including Ondo, CRV, and ENA, have shown impressive gains. During the significant market downturn on the 10th and 11th, these tokens were relatively resilient or rebounded quickly.
Empowering traditional finance, especially in sectors and projects supported by traditional financial giants, may be one of the most certain directions in this bull market. ChainCatcher has briefly summarized the relevant projects. (Excluding Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP crypto ETFs)
BlackRock
In March of this year, BlackRock launched the tokenized fund BUIDL through the compliant tokenization platform Securitize, which currently has a scale of over $550 million.
Most of BUIDL is still deployed on Ethereum. Last month, BlackRock announced the launch of the BUIDL fund on Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, OP, and Polygon. Recently, partners or affiliates related to BUIDL have also performed quite well.
- Ondo Finance (Ondo)
Ondo surged 40% last week, breaking through $1.93 and reaching an all-time high, currently retreating to around $1.86. It has risen over 100% in the past month and more than 880% in the past year; its market cap is nearly $2.6 billion, with an FDV exceeding $18 billion.
As a leading project in the RWA sector, Ondo Finance has a close partnership with BlackRock, which has propelled its multiple price increases.
The two core products of Ondo Finance are the tokenized U.S. Treasury product OUSG. Previously, the majority of the OUSG investment portfolio consisted of BlackRock's iShares Short-Term Treasury ETF (NASDAQ: SHV). After BlackRock announced the launch of the tokenized fund BUIDL in March, Ondo also reallocated most of OUSG's assets to BUIDL. OUSG currently has a TVL of over $180 million and has provided clients with over $25 million in returns since its launch.
In addition to its close ties with BlackRock, Ondo Finance's ecosystem directory published this year also includes partners such as Morgan Stanley, Ankura Trust, Clear Street, and NAV Consulting.
The core team of Ondo Finance mostly comes from backgrounds in well-known traditional asset management companies. Its co-founder and CEO Nathan Allman previously led global digital asset markets at Goldman Sachs. Other core members of Ondo Finance also primarily hail from top asset management firms like Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and Bridgewater.
In addition to U.S. Treasuries, Ondo Finance will also launch Ondo Global Markets on February 6, 2025, which will tokenize stocks and bonds on-chain.
- Curve (CRV)
As a veteran DeFi leader, CRV's recent rise is also related to its collaboration with BlackRock. Curve is an important partner for BlackRock's entry into DeFi.
On November 30, Curve announced that it had partnered with the blockchain network Elixir to expand access to BlackRock's tokenized money market fund BUIDL in DeFi. Users will soon be able to mint Elixir's yield stablecoin deUSD using BlackRock's BUIDL. Subsequently, CRV surged from $0.5 to $0.8, nearing $1.3 on December 7.
As of the time of writing, it is reported at $1.16, with a nearly 300% increase in recent months; its market cap exceeds $1.4 billion, with an FDV over $2.5 billion. CRV's all-time high price was $60.5 in August 2020, and its all-time low was $0.18 in August of this year.
In addition to its collaboration with BlackRock, Curve's market demand has surged following the market rally. Curve also stated that its revenue doubled from an average of $268,000 to $581,000 within two weeks after Trump took office.
Recently, CurveDAO also launched the interest-bearing stablecoin Savings crvUSD (scrvUSD) to expand new use cases.
- Ethena (ENA)
On November 29, stablecoin issuer Ethena and tokenization platform Securitize announced their upcoming collaboration to launch the stablecoin USDtb, participating in Sky (formerly MakerDAO) lending platform Spark's $1 billion tokenization competition.
The reserves of the USDtb stablecoin will be invested in BlackRock's U.S. dollar institutional digital liquidity fund (BUIDL), making USDtb the only stablecoin supported by BUIDL.
Affected by this news, ENA has been rising continuously from around $0.7. Last week, it broke through $1.14 and is currently retreating to $1.1, with an increase of nearly 80% in the past month, a market cap exceeding $3.2 billion, and an FDV over $16.5 billion.
Ethena is also a project in which Franklin Templeton is involved.
- Velo (VELO)
Velo is a blockchain-based global settlement network that provides fast, secure, and low-cost cross-border payments for individuals and businesses. DWF Labs made a strategic investment of $10 million in it last year.
In September, Velo announced that it had integrated BlackRock's tokenized BUIDL fund into its USDV stablecoin, providing seamless trading and yield opportunities for over 1 million users in Southeast Asia.
VELO surged 50% last week, breaking through $0.03, and is currently retreating to around $0.026, with an increase of over 84% in recent months, a market cap nearing $200 million, and an FDV close to $800 million.
Fidelity
- Chainlink (LINK)
The oracle network is also essential for financial institutions to tokenize assets, and Chainlink can help institutions connect on-chain and off-chain data, unlocking some DeFi use cases.
This year, Chainlink has collaborated with multiple traditional asset management firms, leading crypto companies, Web2 giants, and Trump's crypto project.
Chainlink partnered with Fidelity International and Sygnum to put the net asset value (NAV) data of Fidelity's $6.9 billion institutional liquidity fund on-chain in real-time. Chainlink also completed a pilot project with Swiss asset management giant UBS and SWIFT, providing settlement for subscription and redemption operations of tokenized funds through the SWIFT network.
21Shares integrated Chainlink's proof of reserves system to provide transparency for its Ethereum ETF; Sony's L2 network Soneium also chose Chainlink as a partner.
Notably, Trump's family crypto project World Liberty recently announced it would adopt Chainlink's on-chain data and cross-chain connection standards. In the past nine hours, World Liberty purchased over 40,000 LINK.
Last week, LINK's price broke through $20 and reached a high of over $27. After a brief retreat, it rose again today, surpassing $29, with a nearly 30% increase in 24 hours and close to 100% in the past month. The last time LINK was above $20 was in January 2020. LINK's all-time high was $52.88 in May 2021.
As of the time of writing, LINK's market cap exceeds $18 billion, with an FDV over $28.9 billion.
Morgan
- Avalanche (Avax)
Avalanche's token Avax has also performed well in the recently started altcoin season among established public chains. Avax surged to over $55 last week and is currently retreating to around $50, with an increase of over 37% in the past month. Currently, Avax's market cap exceeds $20.5 billion, with an FDV close to $36 billion.
From a news perspective, Avax's recent rise is not only due to speculation about Ava Labs' founder hinting at discussions with the new U.S. government but also related to Avalanche's layout and growth in RWA.
Avalanche has a significant advantage in developing RWA, as it allows developers or companies to create their own independent subnets.
Some RWA projects can thus create dedicated subnets based on the legal requirements of different countries or regions, flexibly meeting cooperation requirements.
JPMorgan has a close partnership with Avalanche, utilizing its digital asset platform Onyx to create tokenized funds.
Additionally, other asset management giants, banks, payment giants, government agencies, and stablecoin leaders have also adopted Avalanche.
In November, BlackRock announced that Avalanche was among the multiple public chains it was expanding into. Tether's newly launched asset tokenization platform Hadron also includes Avalanche among its first hosted public chains.
In October, Latin American bank Littio switched from Ethereum to Avalanche.
In August, Franklin Templeton expanded its tokenized money market fund (FOBXX) to the Avalanche network, which had previously traded on Stellar, Polygon, and Arbitrum.
Earlier this year, Citibank collaborated with WisdomTree and Wellington Management to conduct a proof-of-concept for tokenizing private equity funds on Avalanche's subnet Spruce. The California Department of Motor Vehicles also digitized ownership certificates for 42 million vehicles on Avalanche.
Franklin Templeton
Franklin Templeton's tokenized fund FOBXX currently exceeds $440 million, initially issued on the Stellar blockchain and later expanded to Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, Aptos, Ethereum, and Base.
Franklin Templeton has invested in around 30 crypto projects, including Aptos (APT), Ethena (ENA), Sui (SUI), Puffer Finance (PUFFER), SHRAPNEL (SHRAP), LayerZero (ZRO), Spectral (SPEC), and Arcade (ARC), with 8 having issued tokens.
Puffer Finance, Ethena, and SHRAPNEL are projects invested in over the past year. PUFFER and ENA, both projects invested in this year, have shown the most impressive token price increases. Ethena has already been mentioned for its collaboration with BlackRock's tokenized fund regarding stablecoins, so it will not be elaborated on further.
- Stellar (XLM)
Stellar is another payment network founded by Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb. Over half of the TVL of Franklin Templeton's tokenized fund FOBXX is on Stellar.
Stellar has also partnered with WisdomTree, with WisdomTree's short-term treasury digital funds issued on Stellar. WisdomTree launched the WisdomTree Prime application, utilizing the Stellar network to launch in 41 states.
XLM has seen multiple rises in the past month, breaking through $0.6 at its peak and currently retreating to around $0.44, with an increase of over 260% in the past month. Its market cap exceeds $13.3 billion, with an FDV over $22.1 billion.
- Sui (SUI)
In addition to investing in Sui, Franklin Templeton announced a strategic partnership with Sui in November, focusing on supporting Sui ecosystem builders and deploying new technologies using the Sui blockchain protocol.
Sui is currently reported at $4.81, with an increase of over 53% in the past month, a market cap exceeding $14.1 billion, and an FDV over $48.1 billion.
- Aptos (APT)
In addition to investments, Franklin Templeton's tokenized fund FOBXX has now expanded to Aptos.
APT is currently reported at $13.87, with little increase in the past month, peaking above $15, and a market cap exceeding $7.4 billion, with an FDV reaching $15.6 billion.
- Puffer Finance (PUFFER)
Puffer Finance is a liquid staking protocol based on EigenLayer. In April of this year, Franklin Templeton participated in an $18 million investment alongside Fidelity Investments' parent company's associated venture capital fund Avon Ventures.
Last week, PUFFER also surged close to $1, currently retreating to $0.82, with an increase of nearly 130%. Its current market cap is over $84 million, with an FDV exceeding $820 million.
- LayerZero (ZRO)
As one of the three major cross-chain protocols, LayerZero has also performed well recently. Last week, LayerZero's token ZRO reached an all-time high, breaking through $7.4, and is currently retreating to $6.98, with an increase of over 77%. ZRO's market cap is $760 million, with an FDV of $6.9 billion.
Recently, it is worth noting that LayerZero (ZRO) will hold a public referendum on December 19 to initiate fee conversion.
The LayerZero protocol may charge fees equal to the total cost of validating and executing cross-chain messages. If the fee switch is activated through governance, the referendum's financial contract will collect fees on the local chain and burn those fees.
- SHRAPNEL (SHRAP)
SHRAPNEL is an AAA-level FPS game, with investment teams including well-known institutions such as Polychain, IOSG Ventures, Dragonfly, DeFiance Capital, Mechanism Capital, and Spartan Group.
However, the Shrapnel team experienced internal conflict at the end of last year, with the Shrapnel game studio Neon Machine mentioning lawsuits to several investors, claiming attempts to seize control of the company and its treasury.
SHRAP is currently reported at $0.04, with a market cap exceeding $33 million and an FDV over $124 million.
- Spectral (SPEC)
Spectral was originally a machine intelligence network on the Base chain and is now positioned as a platform to help users achieve AI programming for smart contracts.
In March of this year, Spectral launched the AI application Syntax, which can help anyone launch smart contracts on Ethereum and dozens of other blockchains, allowing users to compile, debug, and deploy AI-generated Solidity code.
In addition to Franklin Templeton's investment, early investors in Spectral include Polychain Capital, Galaxy Digital, Samsung, Circle Ventures, and Jump Capital.
Recently, as the AI sector leads the market, SPEC broke through its historical high of $18, currently retreating to $13; its market cap exceeds $183 million, with an FDV over $1.3 billion.
- Arcade (ARC)
Arcade is a GameFi platform that allows the community to earn meaningful rewards from various Play-and-Earn metaverse games without directly playing the games or owning in-game NFTs. Franklin Templeton invested in Arcade in 2021, with early investors including Pantera Capital, Crypto.com Capital, Solana Ventures, Shima Capital, GSR, LD Capital, and KuCoin Labs.
Earlier this year, Crypto.com Capital, Solana Ventures, Shima Capital, GSR, and KuCoin Labs invested in Arcade again.
ARC is currently reported at $0.038, with a market cap of less than $1 million and an FDV of over $30 million.
VanEck
In addition to its collaboration with Pudgy Penguins, VanEck announced in October the launch of a $30 million venture capital fund to support the development of the crypto and AI industries.
It has previously invested in at least seven crypto projects, including GEODNET (GEOD), Parallel (PRIME), and 1inch (1INCH), which have issued tokens.
- Pudgy Penguins (PENGU)
Last week, Pudgy Penguins, which plans to issue tokens and has airdrop expectations in 2024, saw its floor price surge past 27 ETH, and Pudgy Penguins also has some connections with VanEck.
In June of this year, the asset management firm VanEck changed its social media avatar on the X platform to Pudgy Penguins, captioning, "The boss thinks it's too cute, can't do without pfp." Pudgy Penguins also appeared in VanEck's ETH ETF promotional video.
However, recently, Pudgy Penguins' token plans are set to launch on Solana.
- Parallel (PRIME)
Parallel is a sci-fi themed trading card game (TCG), with team members including senior developers from AAA games like Assassin's Creed and Valorant, as well as the involvement of YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley.
In addition to VanEck, Paradigm, Solana Ventures, Base, Amber Group, and Spartan Group participated in the investment, with the first financing in 2021 receiving a $50 million investment from Paradigm, reaching a valuation of $500 million.
This year, Parallel also launched the AI survival simulation game Colony on Solana and released the AI crypto game lunar landing plan.
PRIME is currently reported at $15.78, with an increase of over 53% in just one month, and its market cap exceeds $566 million, with an FDV over $1.7 billion.
- GEODNET (GEOD)
GEODNET is a DEPIN project that uses new rooftop space weather stations to collect dense real-time geospatial data from the Earth and its atmosphere. In addition to VanEck, Animoca Brands, Pantera Capital, CoinFund, and IoTeX are also its investors. Animoca Brands has also formed a strategic partnership with GEODNET.
GEOD is currently reported at $0.24, with no significant increase recently, and its market cap exceeds $48 million, with an FDV over $240 million.
- 1inch (1INCH)
The veteran DEX aggregator 1inch is also the second-largest aggregator by market share. 1INCH broke through $0.6 last week and is currently retreating to $0.51, with an increase of over 63% in the past month; its market cap exceeds $720 million, with an FDV over $777 million.
After the price increase last week, the 1inch team sold 15.698 million 1INCH for 8.38 million USDC over three consecutive days from the 5th to the 7th, with an average selling price of $0.533.
WisdomTree
In addition to applying for an XRP ETF, WisdomTree has recently been actively tokenizing funds and other RWA products.
WisdomTree recently stated that platform users can now directly spend funds from its government money market digital fund (WTGXX) using their Visa debit cards. Currently, the fund manages approximately $12 million in assets.
Additionally, WisdomTree has launched an RWA platform that allows users to access its regulated fund tokens through any wallet or blockchain network, with plans to eventually expand access to these assets.
WisdomTree has also obtained a license from NYDFS and will launch a crypto application WisdomTree Prime.
WisdomTree's short-term treasury digital fund launched in 2022 was also initially deployed on Ethereum and Stellar. WisdomTree has also conducted a proof-of-concept for tokenizing private equity funds on Avalanche's subnet Spruce.
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs' plans in the crypto space for 2025 are also worth noting.
Recently, market news indicated that Goldman Sachs' CEO stated that if regulators allow, they would "evaluate" participation in the Bitcoin or Ethereum markets. Goldman Sachs' attention to cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin may also represent an important shift.
Previously, Goldman Sachs' head of digital assets stated mid-year that they planned to launch three tokenization projects by the end of the year, including their first U.S. project. Goldman Sachs is expanding its cryptocurrency services, focusing on the tokenization space, aiming to issue "real-world assets" such as money market funds and real estate through public or private blockchains.
Currently, Goldman Sachs has not disclosed more project details and partners regarding tokenized funds, so it is worth keeping an eye on.
Goldman Sachs has also previously invested in projects like Circle, BitGO, Blockdaemon, and Certik.
In addition to traditional asset management institutions, tokens held by crypto asset managers like Grayscale have also been leading the charge recently. Recommended reading: “Let Institutions 'Lift the Barrow' for Your Altcoin Bags: Grayscale Funds and Coin50 Index to Watch in This Bull Market”
