According to CoinDesk, private equity firm Aurum Equity Partners announced the launch of a $1 billion tokenized equity and debt fund on the XRP Ledger network. This blockchain, closely associated with Ripple, will focus on investments in data centers across the U.S., United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, India, and Europe. The fund is described as the 'worldâs first combined equity and debt tokenized fund,' leveraging technology from San Francisco-based tokenization service provider Zoniqx to create security tokens of the underlying financial instruments.
The issuance represents a significant milestone for XRP Ledger and Ripple Labs, highlighting their ambition to capture a share of the growing real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market. Institutional investors are increasingly moving traditional financial products like bonds, credit, and equity onto blockchain platforms to achieve operational efficiency and faster settlements. Various reports from McKinsey, BCG, 21Shares, and Bernstein estimate that the RWA market could grow to trillions of dollars in the coming years.
Ripple is also awaiting approval from New York state regulators to launch its U.S. dollar stablecoin, which is expected to enhance liquidity and support institutions in tokenizing and settling financial assets on the XRPL network. Ripple Labs President Monica Long highlighted the importance of this stablecoin at the company's annual Swell conference last week.
David Schwartz, chief technology officer of Ripple and co-creator of the XRP Ledger, commented on the development, stating, 'Tokenizing private equity is another emerging use case in RWA, tackling the challenges of illiquidity and limited access in these markets. By using XRPLâs ability to process transactions efficiently and securely, Aurum and Zoniqx are showing how real-world assets can be managed more effectively harnessing a decentralized blockchain.'
