Ripple Invests $10 Million in Tokenized US T-Bills via OpenEden

By: Eliza Bennet

Ripple has made a significant investment by allocating $10 million into tokenized US Treasury bills (T-bills) through OpenEden, an advanced tokenization platform that integrates with the XRP Ledger (XRPL). This move was officially announced on August 1, marking another innovative step in Ripple's strategic initiatives.

This investment is part of a broader fund that Ripple aims to deploy into tokenized T-bills from OpenEden and potentially other token issuers who are yet to be named. This strategic move by Ripple underscores the increasing enthusiasm among institutional investors towards tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs). According to 21co's research analyst Tom Wan, tokenized US Treasuries could surge to $3 billion by the end of 2024, driven by various crypto projects looking to diversify their portfolios.

Data from Dune Analytics indicates that the current market for tokenized US Treasuries is robust, managing assets totaling $1.78 billion. In this domain, BlackRock's USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) stands out as a market leader.

T-bills on XRPL

OpenEden’s tokenized T-bills are secured by short-term US Treasury bills and reverse repurchase agreements backed by US Treasuries, thus offering high security and compliance. The platform ensures stringent security measures by conducting Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) screenings for its token minters.

Markus Infanger, Senior Vice President at RippleX, emphasized that OpenEden’s integration with the XRP Ledger enhances the network’s role in real-world asset tokenization. He stated, “OpenEden’s tokenized US Treasury bills represent another exciting example of how all types of real-world assets are being tokenized to drive utility and new opportunities.”

Jeremy Ng, co-founder of OpenEden, noted that their firm has attracted a diverse range of institutional clients and described the expansion to the XRP Ledger as a logical progression. He said, “Bringing tokenized T-bills to the XRP Ledger is the next step in our exciting journey. Purchasers will be able to mint our TBILL tokens via stablecoins, including Ripple USD when it launches later this year.”

So far, OpenEden's tokenized bills have witnessed substantial adoption, with the total value of its locked assets exceeding $75 million.