Real-world asset project Backed issues tokenized security on Base

Real-world asset (RWA) tokenizer Backed has issued the first tokenized security product on Base named bIB01, which tracks a short-term US treasury bond ETF.

Operating under the Swiss DLT act, Backed issues tokens (bTokens) that function as ERC-20 tokens, tracking the value of different assets, including treasury ETFs, corporate bond ETFs, and equities. These are collateralized by the underlying asset and are freely transferable across wallets.

Backed has previously issued b1B01 tokens on the Ethereum and Gnosis chains with a combined market capitalization of over $37 million, according to on-chain data aggregated by Steakhouse on Dune. Now it has expanded the product to Base.

Coinbase-backed Base is an Layer 2 blockchain on Ethereum, and Backed views it as a low-cost, developer-friendly chain suitable for experimentation with tokenized securities products.

“We are constantly seeing new use cases developed for our bTokens product and are certain that Base will provide an excellent platform for further experimentation,” said Giorgio Giuliani, head of product at Backed.

What are Backed’s bIB01 tokens?

Backed’s bIB01 tokens track the investment results of a short-term iShares treasury bond ETF, an index composed of US Dollar-denominated treasury bonds.

These bTokens can be purchased by investors and licensed resellers onboarded with Backed who pass know-your-customer and anti-money laundering checks. Backed said that its tokenized assets are not registered with the SEC, so they will not be offered to U.S. residents.

Backed is among the major players offering tokenized securities on public blockchains, along with Ondo Finance, Maple Finance, Matrixdock, OpenEden, and TrueFi.