Milestone in RWA Tokenization
OpenEden has tapped the world’s largest custodian bank, BNY Mellon, for custody and asset management of its tokenized Treasury product, TBILL. The announcement, made Wednesday, is being hailed as a major milestone in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.
TBILL now stands as the first-ever tokenized U.S. Treasury fund to carry an “A” credit rating from Moody’s — signifying upper-medium-grade credit quality and low risk, with strong capacity for timely payment.
“By combining our platform with BNY Mellon’s fiduciary expertise, we can establish a new standard of trust in digital assets,” said Jeremy Ng, Co-Founder & CEO at OpenEden.
Rising Demand for On-Chain Treasuries
Launched in 2023, TBILL offers blockchain investors access to short-dated U.S. Treasury bills and overnight reverse repurchase agreements (ON RRPs), while ensuring holders maintain legal ownership of the underlying assets and yields.
According to OpenEden, institutional and retail demand for regulated, on-chain cash management products is surging.
Under the new partnership:
- Dreyfus, BNY Mellon’s investment unit, will manage the TBILL fund.
- BNY Mellon will provide primary custody via its institutional-grade infrastructure.
BNY Mellon’s Expanding Digital Asset Strategy
BNY Mellon has steadily built its digital asset capabilities since launching a crypto custody platform in 2022 for Bitcoin and Ethereum. Its initiatives include:
- A data insights service bridging on-chain and off-chain data.
- Collaborations with Goldman Sachs on tokenized money market funds.
- Positioning as a TradFi-to-DeFi bridge for institutional clients.
“We see ourselves as a link between two worlds. This partnership allows us to cover the full lifecycle of tokenized assets while extending our liquidity management expertise,” said Jose Minaya, Global Senior Official at BNY Mellon.
Why It Matters for Tokenized Finance
The partnership signals that tokenized treasuries have matured from niche DeFi experiments into institution-grade products. With world-class custody, regulatory oversight, and a strong credit rating, TBILL could serve as a blueprint for the future of tokenized fixed-income markets.
