On Sept. 18, WisdomTree launched an Ethereum-based platform for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) called WisdomTree Connect.
The goal of the platform is to enable customers to interact with any token issued by WisdomTree on various blockchains.
WisdomTree Connect gives businesses access to on-chain revenue generating products with blockchain integrated record keeping. Businesses receive a digital record of their WisdomTree digital funds in their wallet. Tokens can be self-hosted or stored with a third-party custodian service.
Will Peck, head of digital assets at WisdomTree, said growing interest in tokenized real-world assets prompted the creation of WisdomTree Connect.
He added that this opens up further business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) opportunities for WisdomTree to provide on-chain companies with access to digital funds without having to leave the ecosystem.
The announcement explained that the platform will initially support a web portal and API access, with plans to explore interaction with decentralized applications (dApps) in the future. Institutional users will be able to buy or redeem with US dollars or the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin.
WisdomTree Connect complements the company's direct-to-retail app, WisdomTree Prime, to provide digital asset solutions across its customer base.
Possible migration of WisdomTree to Ethereum
According to RWA.xyz, the total market capitalization of tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds is over $2.2 billion. WisdomTree currently offers seven different tokenized products with a total value of $12.2 million, which puts the company out of the top 10 issuers by total tokenized value.
The asset manager's products range from short-term to long-term government bonds, with liquidity ranging from seven to 10 years maturity.
Notably, six of WisdomTree’s seven offerings will be issued on the Stellar blockchain, with tokens issued by WisdomTree Connect using Ethereum.
The announcement revealed plans to add support for additional blockchains in the future, but did not say whether WisdomTree's current product will be migrated to Ethereum.
Stellar is currently the second largest blockchain infrastructure for the tokenization of U.S. Treasury bonds, backed primarily by Franklin Templeton's FOBXX Tokenization Fund, with $426.5 million worth of U.S. Treasury bonds deployed as tokens.
Meanwhile, Ethereum holds digital representations of over $1.6 billion in U.S. Treasury securities, while BlackRock tops the list with over $521 million in tokenized shares in its BUIDL fund.
Therefore, considering WisdomTree’s plans to integrate its token with dApps, a move to Ethereum would be appropriate as it is the largest decentralized ecosystem by total value locked.
