CMB International Asset Management has introduced a tokenized version of its USD Money Market Fund on the BNB Chain. This was achieved using the CMBMINT and CMBIMINT tokens on October 15th.
This fund, which oversees more than $3.8 billion, achieved top performance rankings among Asia-Pacific money market funds according to Bloomberg’s data as of October 2025.
The fund, established in 2024, strategically allocates at least 70% of its assets to short-term deposits denominated in US dollars, alongside high-grade instruments issued by governments, related agencies, and leading financial institutions.
Tokenization enables qualified investors to participate by subscribing with either traditional currency or stablecoins. Redemptions are facilitated in real-time via smart contracts developed by DigiFT for liquidity management, with infrastructure support provided by OnChain.
Adam Bai, who leads CMB International Asset Management, stated that the infrastructure of BNB Chain empowers the company to “securely and compliantly extend our money market strategies to a broader global investor base.”
The BNB Chain’s Real World Asset (RWA) ecosystem includes several key partners focused on issuance, among them Franklin Templeton, Ondo, Securitize, Backed, OpenEden, and Asseto.
The network facilitates the issuance of various financial assets, including Circle’s USYC, VBill, Benji, and Cash+.
The CMBMINT and CMBIMINT tokens are slated for integration with the Venus Protocol and ListaDAO, allowing investors to leverage them as collateral for lending activities or in yield-generating strategies.
Sarah, the head of business development at BNB Chain, described the collaboration as “another milestone in our RWA journey,” and emphasized that it reinforces BNB Chain’s ambition to become the primary tokenization platform for all types of assets.
Regulatory context
On September 23, Reuters reported that regulatory authorities in China had advised some local brokerage firms to temporarily halt their RWA tokenization activities in Hong Kong.
Informal guidance was given to at least two prominent brokerages by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, urging them to refrain from engaging in RWA business outside of mainland China.
Following the news, shares of major Chinese brokerages listed in Hong Kong, such as Guotai Junan International and GF Securities, experienced declines ranging from 2% to 7.25%.
Hong Kong’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, along with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, are currently undertaking a legal assessment of RWA tokenization, initially concentrating on the bond market.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has clarified that existing guidelines are in place to govern the sale and distribution of tokenized products by banks and that they are exploring possible applications through Project Ensemble, a sandbox environment for tokenization.
GF Securities’ Hong Kong division launched “GF tokens” in June, and China Merchants Bank International played a role in assisting Shenzhen Futian Investment to secure 500 million yuan (approximately $70 million) through an RWA-backed digital bond issuance in September.
The shares of the state-owned Guotai Junan International surged by more than 400% in June after the brokerage received regulatory approval in Hong Kong to provide cryptocurrency trading services.
CMB International Asset Management operates as a fully owned subsidiary of China Merchants Bank and is based in Hong Kong.
The tokenized fund is specifically targeted toward accredited investors, utilizing regulated channels supported by DigiFT and OnChain.
Furthermore, this effort contributes to establishing China’s position in the RWA market, even if it’s accomplished through endeavors in Hong Kong. As a consequence, ambitious projections regarding the future scale of the RWA market are becoming increasingly plausible.
McKinsey’s base-case scenario predicts that tokenized financial assets will reach approximately $2 trillion by 2030, with a potential upside close to $4 trillion.
Meanwhile, Citi’s estimates suggest that tokenized securities could be valued between $4 and $5 trillion by the same year. The Boston Consulting Group and ADDX have forecasted a value of around $16.1 trillion by 2030.
Here comes a new challenger
The global RWA market achieved a record high of $34 billion on October 15th, primarily driven by private credit ($17.5 billion) and tokenized money funds ($8.3 billion).
According to data from rwa.xyz, BNB Chain held a total value of $494.6 million in tokenized real-world assets, which equates to 2.35% of the overall $34 billion market, and $469.9 million in tokenized money funds, accounting for 5.6% of the $8.3 billion segment.
CMB International’s tokenization initiative is expected to increase BNB Chain’s holdings to roughly $4.3 billion across both categories, representing 11.4% of the total RWA market and 35.3% of tokenized money funds.
Ethereum currently holds a total RWA value of $12.1 billion (57.5% market share) and $5.8 billion in tokenized money funds (70% market share).
In comparison, Solana has a total of $686.3 million (3.26%) and $461 million in tokenized funds (5.55%).
Upon completion of this initiative, BNB Chain is poised to become the second-largest player in both the overall RWA market and the tokenized money fund segment.
Consequently, the existing competition between Ethereum and Solana for dominance in the growing tokenization market is set to be significantly disrupted by the ascent of the BNB Chain.
Although Ethereum is expected to maintain its leading position, BNB Chain, based on the latest figures, would likely surpass Solana as its primary competitor.