In a notable development within asset management and blockchain integration, F/m Investments has applied for regulatory approval to tokenize shares of its U.S. Treasury 3 Month Bill Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF), traded under the ticker NASDAQ:TBIL. The firm submitted its application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) aiming to represent ETF ownership through digital tokens on a permissioned blockchain framework.
This proposal would maintain the current Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures (CUSIP) code associated with TBIL shares, effectively mirroring all existing shareholder rights, including voting power, fee structures, and economic entitlements. The significance of this approach lies in its design to keep tokenized shares squarely within the regulatory boundaries of the Investment Company Act of 1940. This law governs mutual funds, ETFs, and closed-end funds, providing a well-established framework designed to protect investors.
Alexander Morris, CEO of F/m Investments, emphasized the firm’s perspective on the evolving securities landscape. Morris stated, “Tokenization is coming to securities markets whether we file this application or not. The question is whether it happens inside the regulatory framework investors have relied on for 85 years, or without that set of protections for investors.” This underscores the firm’s objective to marry innovation with regulatory compliance to preserve investor safeguards.
Currently, the Treasury 3 Month Bill ETF manages assets totaling approximately $6.29 billion. Tokenization of the fund’s shares would allow these assets to be digitally represented while retaining the existing legal and economic characteristics of traditional ETF shares.
This move by F/m Investments arrives amid a broader industry trend of tokenizing traditional financial market instruments. According to data from RWA.xyz, the market capitalization of tokenized U.S. Treasury securities has expanded toward $9.57 billion. Prominent players such as BlackRock, via its BUILDL fund, have contributed significantly to growth in this space.
Further developments in the realm of tokenized securities include the New York Stock Exchange's recent announcement to establish a platform for on-chain trading and settlement of tokenized U.S.-listed equities and ETFs. This platform promises extended operating hours with 24/7 availability and immediate transaction finality, reflecting an industry push toward efficiency and modernization.
Moreover, infrastructure providers like Ondo Finance have diversified their tokenized TradFi product offerings beyond Ethereum and BNB Chain by launching a portfolio on the Solana blockchain encompassing stocks, ETFs, bonds, and commodities.
On the market front, shares of the Treasury 3 Month Bill ETF (TBIL) experienced a marginal decline of 0.02% during after-hours trading following a slight increase of 0.02% to close at $49.98 in the regular trading session. Benzinga Pro data indicates that the ETF’s price demonstrates strength over short-, medium-, and long-term horizons, as reflected in Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.
This development in asset tokenization signals an increasing confluence of traditional securities frameworks with emerging technological tools such as blockchain, aiming at enhancing market accessibility while preserving regulatory compliance and investor protections.