WisdomTrees Goal is to Introduce SelfCustody for Regulated RWAs

WisdomTree has introduced a tokenized real-world assets (RWA) platform with the goal of allowing users to eventually access the asset manager’s regulated fund tokens from any type of wallet or blockchain network, as per a statement on September 18th.
The platform, named WisdomTree Connect, will start by protecting users’ tokenized investment funds with third-party custodians while delivering a “digital record” of ownership to the user’s personal wallet, WisdomTree has stated.
In the long run, WisdomTree hopes to broaden access to its RWAs “to other customer-facing platforms and apps… and retail users with self-hosted wallets,” the company added.
WisdomTree has more than a dozen tokenized funds. Source: WisdomTree
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According to RWA.xyz, RWAs – which include tokenized claims on financial assets, commodities, or art – already have a total value locked (TVL) of over $12 billion. In an interview with Cointelegraph in August, Colin Butler, Polygon’s global head of institutional capital, stated that they represent a $30 trillion market opportunity globally.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that tokenized investment funds be held by a qualified third-party custodian. This has slowed down adoption among crypto-native users, who usually choose to “self-custody” tokens in user-managed wallets.
“We envision a world where users can manage their own wallets independently of our wallet environment,” Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at asset manager Franklin Templeton, told Cointelegraph in August. “We’re working closely with the SEC on this capability,” he added.
Franklin Templeton’s Benji app is a rival for WisdomTree Connect. Source: Benji
WisdomTree manages more than a dozen tokenized investment funds, with holdings that encompass money market instruments, S&P 500 stocks, and US treasury bonds of various durations.
Among the most popular tokenized RWAs are those representing claims on off-chain money market funds, which offer low-risk yields on US Dollars.
The largest by assets under management (AUM) are BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) and Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX), with AUM of approximately $520 million and $430 million, respectively.
WisdomTree’s tokenized money fund — Government Money Market Digital (WTGXX) — lags rivals, with less than $8 million in AUM as of September 18th.
By integrating with more blockchain networks and expanding RWA access to user-managed wallets, WisdomTree Connect “solves a key problem for firms seeking integration between traditional and decentralized finance,” WisdomTree said.
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