- Blockchain and tokenization revolutionize money funds, offering instant payments and revenue automation for investors.
- Archax is leading adoption, enabling tokenized investments in abrdn money market funds, marking a groundbreaking milestone.
Blockchain technology is transforming money market funds, a low-risk type of investment that offers investors a return that increases with interest rates. Duncan Moir, Senior Investment Manager at abrdn, explores the transformative potential of tokenization for money market funds.
Traditional money market funds allow investors to redeem their investments daily, but there is a small catch: if an investor chooses to get their money on the same day, they will receive their “return” distributed in cash daily. To achieve the equivalent annual return, the investor must reinvest that cash back into the fund, an administrative burden for most investors.
"In early 2023, @ArchaxEx started to offer tokenized investments in @abrdn_plc’ [£multi-billion] money market funds using #Hedera. Interest has been substantial, far surpassing our initial expectations…" #RWA #tokenization
Read more from Sr. Investment Manager Duncan Moir: https://t.co/bKX3nIHoqd
— Hedera (@hedera) January 5, 2024
Blockchain tokenization solves this problem by representing the fund’s ownership on a blockchain. This allows investors to make same-day payments and have any income automatically reinvested. In this case, income is “airdropped” to investors’ accounts in the form of new tokens.
Archax, a digital asset firm regulated by the UK FCA began offering tokenized investments in abrdn money market funds through its trading platform. Professional investors can connect directly to Archax’s platform, while individuals can access suitable products through their brokers.
Interest in tokenized money market funds has been substantial, far exceeding initial expectations. This is because tokenization offers investors a number of advantages, including:
- Simpler processes: Tokenization simplifies processes for investors, eliminating the need to manually reinvest proceeds.
- Broader access: Tokenization democratizes access to investments that were previously reserved for a select few.
- Greater efficiency: Tokenization can help reduce transaction costs and times.
Money markets are just the beginning of fund tokenization. Asasset managers step up their blockchain tokenization projects , we can expect more products to come to market.
For many, the goal is to use tokenization to bring private market investments to the masses. With policymakers, regulators and industry bodies emphasizing the need for innovation and investment in financial services, we can also expect more asset managers to move towards enterprise technologies such as Hashgraph and regulated platforms such as Archax.
With this momentum, tokenization emerges as a crucial catalyst in the transformation of money market funds.
Money market funds are a low-risk type of investment that offers investors a return that increases with interest rates. Traditionally, these funds have been managed by investment firms that manage investors’ cash flow.
Tokenization is a disruptive technology that has the potential to change the financial world. In the case of money market funds, tokenization offers a number of advantages that can benefit investors, such as instant liquidity, simpler processes and greater efficiency. As this technology continues to develop, we can expect tokenization to become an increasingly popular option for investors.
