Moody’s Ratings, a renowned global credit rating agency, has recently awarded an “A-bf” bond fund rating to Hill Lights International Limited for issuing OpenEden’s tokenized United States Treasury bills, known as TBILL Tokens.
This “A-bf” rating signifies a high credit rating, indicating that the bond fund is well-positioned to achieve its financial objectives. The highest grade would be the prestigious triple-A (AAA) rating. Moody’s is recognized as one of the top three global credit rating agencies, alongside Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings.
The fund primarily focuses on investing in U.S. Treasury bills or government securities, which are considered a secure investment due to the backing of the U.S. government.
Tokenization involves converting rights to an asset into a digital token on a blockchain, enabling various assets like bonds, real estate, and artworks to be traded online.
OpenEden’s TBILL is exclusively available to institutional investors and currently holds a total value of over $36 million. It offers an estimated annual return of 4.99% with a transaction fee of 0.05%. The fund, as per the company’s website, provides users with access to U.S. Treasurys through smart contracts without any restrictions on trading hours or location.
Moody’s has previously rated several tokenized bonds, including those issued by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The tokenization of over $1.5 billion in U.S. Treasurys signifies a significant milestone in integrating traditional finance with blockchain technology. Major players in traditional finance, such as BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, are spearheading this trend. BlackRock recently introduced the USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), managing a substantial market share with $462.7 million in assets. Franklin’s OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) holds $357.6 million and is tokenized on both the Stellar and Polygon blockchains.
In April, Woo X Exchange launched the world’s first tokenized T-bills for retail customers, allowing investors to earn yield on USD Coin (USDC) holdings backed by U.S. T-bills.