Blockchain platform ADI Chain and Dubai-based maritime tokenization firm Shipfinex have announced a partnership to tokenize commercial ships, aiming to open the estimated $680 billion ship-finance market to a broader pool of institutional capital.

The world's commercial fleet — the vessels themselves, not the cargo they carry — is valued at approximately $2 trillion in total. Yet the market financing their construction and purchase remains tightly held and relationship-driven, dominated by a narrow circle of shipowners, banks, and specialist lenders. Major European banks, historically the largest ship financiers, significantly reduced their exposure to the sector after the 2008 financial crisis and under stricter Basel III capital requirements, widening a financing gap that alternative lenders and lessors have only partially filled. That structure effectively excludes smaller operators and alternative investors from a significant pool of capital.

ADI Chain and Shipfinex want to route that market — currently composed of bank lending, leasing, and export credit — through blockchain technology to make it more accessible.

"Maritime finance has the scale, real assets and commercial activity to become a major new real-world asset category," said Ramana Kumar, President of Stablecoin Ecosystem at ADI Foundation, in the announcement shared with CoinDesk.

The partnership signals that tokenization is expanding beyond financial instruments such as government bonds and money market funds — a category that has drawn participation from firms including BlackRock, which launched its BUIDL tokenized fund on Ethereum in 2024 — into the physical, capital-intensive infrastructure, such as ships and warehouses, that underpins the global economy.

Division of Responsibilities

Shipfinex will identify suitable vessels and package them into investment deals, determining which ships qualify, establishing their valuations, and structuring the investments. ADI Chain will then convert those deals into blockchain tokens and handle payments via stablecoins — digital tokens pegged one-to-one to fiat currencies such as the UAE dirham or the U.S. dollar — enabling instant settlement without traditional bank wires.

For now, the offering is targeted exclusively at "qualified institutional participants" — large, vetted investors — rather than retail buyers.

Shipfinex CEO Capt. Vikas Pandey said the partnership would allow the company to "create a regulated digital route into this market, with every instrument tied to a real vessel, its economics and its legal structure."

Regulatory Status and Pipeline

No maritime asset tokens have been issued yet, and Shipfinex does not currently hold a full operating license to do so. Its regulatory clearance from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) — the specialized virtual-assets regulator established by Dubai in 2022 — is an "In-Principle Approval," a preliminary sign-off confirming the firm has passed an initial background check, not a finished license. Converting that approval into a full operating license will determine when the first tokens can actually reach investors.

Nevertheless, Shipfinex has earmarked approximately 35 vessels with a combined value of roughly $500 million as candidates for tokenization, pending finalized regulatory approval and deal structures. Each ship will be housed in its own separate legal entity, insulating investors in one vessel from financial difficulties affecting another.

Depending on how each deal is structured, purchasing a token — once available — could grant institutional investors a loan backed by the ship (functioning similarly to earning interest), a share of revenue from the vessel's shipping contracts, or a broader economic stake in the ship's value. None of these arrangements, however, would confer legal ownership of the vessel itself. The token represents only a financial claim tied to the ship, while the vessel continues to be owned and operated under traditional commercial structures.

A Growing Competitive Landscape

Maritime shipping accounts for more than 80% of international trade in goods by volume, according to the announcement. Despite that scale, it remains a largely untapped segment of the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market, which currently stands at approximately $38 billion.

The ADI Chain–Shipfinex partnership is not the first move in this space. Galactica has already closed tokenized vessel financings, including a bridge-financing deal for a 145,000 CBM LNG carrier, on InvestaX's regulated platform. In June, Ethra Ship launched a competing maritime RWA protocol built on an existing shipping business.

ADI Chain Background

ADI Chain is an Abu Dhabi-based institutional blockchain platform founded by Sirius International Holding, the technology-focused subsidiary of International Holding Company (IHC). The blockchain already hosts DDSC, a dirham-backed stablecoin licensed by the UAE Central Bank. Earlier this year, IHC used DDSC to process a $30 million transaction on the chain.

Source: CoinDesk