SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Singapore-based fintech firm OpenEden said on Wednesday it has appointed U.S. financial firm BNY as the investment manager and primary custodian for assets backing its tokenised U.S. Treasury fund.
The fund, launched in 2023, provides investors with direct exposure to a pool of short-dated U.S. Treasury bills and overnight reverse repurchase agreements through the minting of Treasury bill tokens. It has nearly $300 million of assets under management.
Doni Shamsuddin, head of Asia Pacific at BNY Investments, said this arrangement is the first time BNY is offering both investments and custody services to tokenised funds.
BNY, or the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, will manage the fund and invest in Treasury bills, money market funds and similar assets that will back the tokens issued by OpenEden.
The move comes at a time of rising demand for tokenised money market funds and as big U.S. banks debate expanding into cryptocurrencies following strong endorsements from regulators.
Tokenisation generally refers to the process of turning financial assets such as bank deposits, stocks, bonds, funds and even real estate into cryptocurrency assets listed on the blockchain.
(Reporting by Rae Wee; Editing by Jamie Freed)
