The Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) has introduced a tokenized fund on the Ethereum blockchain, responding to growing investor demand for tokenized financial assets.
On Nov. 1, UBS launched its “UBS USD Money Market Investment Fund Token,” or “uMINT,” built on Ethereum. Thomas Kaegi, UBS APAC co-head, highlighted the bank’s response to “a growing investor appetite for tokenized financial assets across asset classes.”
Crypto enthusiasts believe this could positively impact Ether’s price. Mario Nawfal’s Roundtable posted on X that UBS’s move could put “ETH right into the heart of traditional finance,” predicting that tokenized assets may soon become mainstream as more banks get involved.
Meanwhile, analyst Tony Edward commented on the importance of Ether, suggesting that “If you don’t have some exposure to ETH, you’re going to miss out on gains.” At the time of publication, Ether was trading at $2,515, as reported by CoinMarketCap.
UBS stated that uMINT holders will gain access to “institutional-grade cash management solutions,” backed by high-quality money market instruments in a conservative risk-managed framework. This launch follows a pilot in 2023, when UBS first tested its in-house tokenization service, UBS Tokenize, using Ethereum smart contracts for fund subscriptions and redemptions.
UBS is part of a broader trend among financial institutions using blockchain networks for tokenized funds. Recently, Franklin Templeton launched its tokenized Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund (FOBXX) on Coinbase’s Base network. Launched in 2021, FOBXX has previously operated on Stellar, Polygon, and Arbitrum.
On Oct. 30, Libeara and FundBridge Capital also launched a tokenized U.S. Treasuries fund for investors on a public blockchain. In May, BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund became the largest treasury fund tokenized on a blockchain, surpassing Franklin Templeton’s product.