$3.8B fund tokenized on BNB marks China’s boldest RWA move yet

China Merchants Bank’s Hong Kong unit moves a money market product onto BNB Chain. What it means for custody, redemptions, and ETH/SOL competition.

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

CMB International Asset Management tokenized the CMB International USD Money Market Fund on BNB Chain through the CMBMINT and CMBIMINT tokens on Oct. 15.

The fund manages over $3.8 billion and ranked first among Asia-Pacific money market peers in Bloomberg’s performance rankings as of October 2025.

Launched in 2024, the fund invests at least 70% of its net asset value in US dollar-denominated short-term deposits and high-quality instruments issued by governments, quasi-governmental entities, and top-tier financial institutions.

Through tokenization, accredited investors can subscribe using fiat or stablecoins and redeem their holdings in real-time via DigiFT’s liquidity management smart contracts, supported by infrastructure provider OnChain.

Adam Bai, head of CMB International Asset Management, said BNB Chain’s infrastructure enables the firm to “securely and compliantly extend our money market strategies to a broader global investor base.”

BNB Chain’s RWA ecosystem comprises issuance partners, including Franklin Templeton, Ondo, Securitize, Backed, OpenEden, and Asseto.

Among the financial assets issued on the network are Circle’s USYC, VBill, Benji, and Cash+.

The CMBMINT and CMBIMINT tokens will integrate with the Venus Protocol and ListaDAO, enabling investors to use them as collateral for lending or in yield strategies.

Sarah, head of business development at BNB Chain, called the collaboration “another milestone in our RWA journey,” adding that it reinforces BNB Chain’s vision to become the tokenization layer for all assets.

Regulatory context

On Sept. 23, Reuters reported that China’s securities watchdog advised some local brokerages to pause their RWA tokenization business in Hong Kong.

At least two leading brokerages received informal guidance from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to refrain from conducting RWA business outside China.

Shares in top Chinese brokerages listed in Hong Kong, including Guotai Junan International and GF Securities, fell between 2% and 7.25% on the news.

Hong Kong’s Financial Services, the Treasury Bureau, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority are conducting a legal review of RWA tokenization, with an initial focus on the bond market.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority stated that it has guidelines in place to regulate the sale and distribution of tokenized products by banks and is exploring potential use cases through Project Ensemble, a sandbox project for tokenization.

GF Securities’ Hong Kong unit launched “GF tokens” in June, and China Merchants Bank International assisted Shenzhen Futian Investment in raising 500 million yuan (roughly $70 million) via an RWA-based digital bond in September.

State-owned Guotai Junan International’s shares rose more than 400% in June after the broker obtained regulatory approval in Hong Kong to offer crypto trading services.

CMB International Asset Management is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Merchants Bank operating in Hong Kong.

The tokenized fund targets accredited investors through regulated channels supported by DigiFT and OnChain.

Additionally, this initiative helps position China in the RWA market, even if it means doing so through efforts in Hong Kong. As a result, ambitious predictions regarding the size of the RWA market in a few years become more realistic.

In its base case, McKinsey projected that tokenized financial assets will reach roughly $2 trillion by 2030, with an upside of nearly $4 trillion.

Meanwhile, Citi estimated that tokenized securities would be worth around $4 to $5 trillion by the same date. The Boston Consulting Group and ADDX projected a value of approximately $16.1 trillion by 2030.

Here comes a new challenger

The global RWA market reached an all-time high of $34 billion on Oct. 15, led by private credit’s $17.5 billion and tokenized money funds’ $8.3 billion.

According to rwa.xyz data, BNB Chain held a total value of $494.6 million in tokenized real-world assets, representing 2.35% of the $34 billion market, and $469.9 million in tokenized money funds, which accounted for 5.6% of the $8.3 billion segment.

The CMB International tokenization would bring BNB Chain to roughly $4.3 billion in both categories, representing 11.4% of the total RWA market and 35.3% of tokenized money funds.

Ethereum holds a total RWA value of $12.1 billion (57.5% market share) and $5.8 billion in tokenized money funds (70% market share).

Meanwhile, Solana has a total of $686.3 million (3.26%) and $461 million in tokenized funds (5.55%).

After the conclusion of this initiative, BNB Chain would rank second in both the overall RWA market and the tokenized money fund segment.

As a result, the dispute between Ethereum and Solana over the ground in the shiny tokenization market would be shaken by the rise of the BNB Chain.

Although Ethereum would still dominate the market, BNB Chain would take Solana’s place as the best contender, considering the current numbers.