CMB’s Hong Kong arm tokenises US$3.5 billion money market fund on BNB Chain
The partnership with Binance-linked blockchain BNB Chain expands tokenisation efforts in the city, even as regulators in Beijing have urged caution over the fast-growing RWA market
A Hong Kong subsidiary of China Merchants Bank has tokenised a US$3.5 billion money market fund on BNB Chain – the blockchain developed by the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance – as the city’s real-world asset (RWA) drive continues to attract Chinese financial institutions.
CMB International Asset Management Limited partnered with BNB Chain to tokenise its CMB International USD Money Market Fund, issuing two tokens that would be available to accredited investors, the companies said on Wednesday.
The two tokens – CMBMINT and CMBIMINT – are distributed respectively by DigiFT, a crypto exchange focused on tokenised RWAs, and the investment platform OnChain.
RWAs refer to traditional financial instruments such as bonds, funds or real estate that are digitally represented on a blockchain. Tokenising these assets allows faster settlement, lower entry barriers and broader access to regulated investment products.
The collaboration showed how financial products could use the BNB Chain ecosystem to “reach a broader global investor base” and “reinforces BNB Chain’s ambition to become the tokenisation layer for all assets”, BNB Chain’s head of business development Sarah Song said in a statement.
The tokens, which represent units in CMB International’s USD money market fund, have been deployed on BNB Chain and support both fiat currency and stablecoin subscriptions, according to the firms.
The launch comes as a growing number of Chinese financial institutions explore tokenisation initiatives in Hong Kong, which has been working since 2022 to position itself as a digital asset hub.