The Block writes, "Regulatory uncertainty is a barrier to the institutional adoption of tokenized money market funds: analyst," which tells us, "The risk of adverse regulatory intervention remains a major obstacle to the broader adoption of tokenized money market funds among institutional players, an analyst said. 'Tokenized money market funds are under constant threat of adverse regulatory action, curbing investors’ appetite,' Rho Labs founder Alex Ryvkin told The Block.... 'I can confirm that widespread tokenized RWA-readiness is, although inevitable, still a couple of years away.' Ryvkin explained that while awareness and interest in tokenized real-world assets have grown, progress on regulatory clarity and infrastructure development will be necessary before these products achieve mass adoption. He noted that the current adoption stage remains in the 'experimentation phase,' with the usage of tokenized money market products still lagging far behind their traditional finance counterparts." The article comments, "Ryvkin highlighted some recent institutional moves in the space -- including interest in using tokenized assets such as BlackRosk's BUIDL token as collateral on crypto derivatives exchanges, such as Deribit.... However, Ryvkin noted that although developments are promising, true adoption requires a foundational infrastructure that is still being built. Ryvkin then pointed to critical steps needed for products like BlackRock's tokenized BUIDL fund to move beyond proof of concept and integrate broadly into capital markets." It adds, "BlackRock's BUIDL fund is a significant example in the tokenized money market fund space. Launched in March 2024, BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) invests in liquid assets like cash, U.S. Treasury bills, and repurchase agreements, offering token holders monthly dividend payouts based on daily accruals. The BUIDL fund operates as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain and features a KYC and AML-compliant 'whitelist' mechanism, allowing tokens to be traded only among addresses approved by the Securitize Markets whitelist. Bank of New York Mellon serves as the custodian of the fund’s assets and its administrator. Since its launch, BUIDL has reportedly distributed $7 million in dividends to investors and now manages over $500 million in assets, making it one of the largest tokenized funds currently trading, according to tracker rwa.xyz." In related news, see also Bloomberg's "Wall Street's Tokenized Money-Market Funds Seek to Take on Tether" and The Wall Street Journal's "Federal Investigators Probe Cryptocurrency Firm Tether."
