Mubadala Capital, the asset management arm of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, has launched a tokenized version of one of its private markets strategies for qualified investors, making it one of the latest major financial firms to embrace blockchain-based fund infrastructure. The move is notable because private markets strategies — which typically involve longer lock-up periods and limited secondary liquidity — have been slower to tokenize than highly liquid instruments such as Treasury bills or money market fund shares.

The alternative asset manager, which oversees approximately $600 billion in assets, partnered with UAE-based tokenization specialist KAIO to bring the fund onchain. The tokenized product is available across Coinbase's Base network, Solana, and Sui, and has already attracted roughly $75 million in onchain assets, according to the companies. Deploying across three networks reflects a multi-chain approach that broadens the pool of eligible participants beyond any single ecosystem.

Coinbase (COIN) is also taking exposure to the fund on its own corporate balance sheet, marking an early instance of a publicly traded crypto company investing in a tokenized private markets product. The size of Coinbase's investment was not disclosed. Coinbase's dual role as both the operator of Base — one of the three hosting networks — and a balance-sheet investor underscores how crypto-native firms are positioning themselves across both infrastructure and demand sides of the tokenization market.

The move adds Mubadala Capital — which administers over $430 billion in assets — to a growing roster of major investment firms deploying funds on blockchain rails. BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Apollo, Fidelity, Janus Henderson, and most recently Invesco have all launched or expanded tokenized fund offerings, primarily focused on U.S. Treasuries, money market funds, and private credit.

Tokenization has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments of digital assets as traditional finance firms seek to modernize fund infrastructure. Citi recently projected that tokenized securities could grow to approximately $5.5 trillion by 2030, while Boston Consulting Group and Ripple estimate that tokenized assets across all classes could reach $18.9 trillion by 2033.

Creating blockchain-based representations of existing funds could broaden access to new categories of investors and enable fund shares to be used as collateral or integrated into other onchain financial applications — a capability particularly relevant for private markets assets, which have historically been difficult to transfer or use as security.

For this initiative, KAIO provides the infrastructure that issues and administers Mubadala Capital's tokenized fund. The company said Mubadala joins firms including Hamilton Lane, Brevan Howard, and Laser Digital that use its platform to distribute investment products onchain. KAIO currently has $144 million in tokenized funds on its platform.

"This strategy was built on differentiated access — to deal flow, to co-investment, to a global network that most investors cannot reach on their own," said Max Franzetti, head of Mubadala Capital Solutions, in a statement. "Bringing it onchain extends that access to a new class of qualified investors without compromising the institutional discipline that defines how we invest."

Brett Tejpaul, head of Coinbase Institutional, said Coinbase's decision to add the fund to its corporate balance sheet reflects growing interest in regulated tokenized assets as treasury holdings.

"As regulated assets become programmable, they can become part of a broader onchain economy that is more transparent, composable and accessible to qualified investors in eligible jurisdictions," Tejpaul said.

The launch also aligns with the UAE's broader ambition to establish itself as a hub for tokenized finance. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have emerged as among the most active jurisdictions for digital assets, with regulators introducing crypto frameworks while banks, sovereign-backed investors, and financial firms increasingly experiment with tokenized funds, bonds, and stablecoins.

Source: CoinDesk