Tether Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Nairobi Securities Exchange to Explore Tokenized Securities
Key Takeaways
- •Tether and the Nairobi Securities Exchange have entered a non-binding agreement to explore tokenized securities, blockchain market infrastructure, and digital asset education.
- •The collaboration includes evaluating Tether's Hadron tokenization platform for issuing and trading tokenized securities on the exchange.
- •The parties will assess the feasibility of using USDT as a digital settlement layer, subject to Kenyan regulatory requirements.
- •Kenya's Capital Markets Authority is developing a regulatory framework for digital assets that would govern any tokenization or settlement solutions deployed in the country.
- •Tokenized real-world assets have grown to approximately $36.8 billion in onchain value excluding stablecoins, reflecting broader institutional interest from firms such as BlackRock and Franklin Templeton.
Tether Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Nairobi Securities Exchange to Explore Tokenized Securities
The agreement covers tokenized securities, blockchain-based market infrastructure, and the potential use of USDT as a settlement layer.
Tether has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) to explore opportunities in tokenized securities, blockchain-based market infrastructure, and the potential adoption of USDt (USDT) as a settlement layer. The NSE, located in Nairobi, serves as Kenya's principal stock exchange and is a key capital markets institution in East Africa. The MoU is a non-binding agreement outlining areas for joint exploration rather than a final commitment to deploy specific products.
In a Tuesday announcement, Tether said the memorandum outlines plans to explore blockchain-based market infrastructure, digital asset education, and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. The collaboration also includes evaluating the potential use of Tether's Hadron tokenization platform for issuing and trading tokenized securities.
Additionally, the agreement calls for the parties to assess instant settlement mechanisms and the feasibility of using USDT as a digital settlement infrastructure layer, where permitted under Kenyan regulations. Kenya's Capital Markets Authority has been developing a regulatory framework for digital assets, which would shape how any tokenization or settlement solutions could operate within the country. Tokenization refers to the process of representing ownership rights to real-world assets on a blockchain, enabling fractional ownership and more efficient transfer of value.
The MoU comes as tokenized real-world assets continue to gain traction across global financial markets. According to RWA.xyz, the sector's onchain value has grown to approximately $36.8 billion, excluding stablecoins. RWA.xyz separately tracks nearly $298 billion in stablecoins, which some market participants also classify as RWAs because they represent claims on offchain reserve assets. Traditional financial institutions, including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, have launched tokenized fund products on blockchains over the past year, signaling broader institutional interest in the category.
USDT, with a market capitalization of roughly $184 billion, is the world's largest stablecoin by market value. Tether, the company that issues USDT, has been expanding into tokenization infrastructure through its Hadron platform and has pursued partnerships across Africa, where adoption of digital payment tools has grown alongside mobile money services.