China Merchants Bank Tokenizes $3.8B Fund on BNB Chain, Supported by DigiFT

4 months ago

KEY FACTS: China Merchants Bank International Asset Management (CMBI), a subsidiary of China Merchants Bank, has tokenized its $3.8 billion USD Money Market Fund on the BNB Chain in Hong Kong, enabling accredited investors to access the fund via blockchain using fiat or stablecoins. Launched under the CMB International Open-ended Fund Company, the fund, which grew 24% from $2.9 billion to $3.6 billion between April and August 2025, invests in low-risk, US dollar-denominated assets. The initiative, supported by OnChain and DigiFT, introduces CMBMINT and CMBIMINT tokens, enhancing liquidity and DeFi integration.

Source: BNB Chain

China Merchants Bank Tokenizes $3.8B Fund on BNB Chain, Supported by DigiFT

China Merchants Bank International Asset Management (CMBI), the Hong Kong-based arm of the state-backed China Merchants Bank (CMB), has partnered with BNB Chai, a prominent layer-1 blockchain network, to bring its flagship CMB International USD Money Market Fund onchain. This development allows accredited investors to access the fund directly through blockchain-based mechanisms, using either fiat currencies or stablecoins for subscriptions and redemptions. The initiative introduces two new tokens (CMBMINT and CMBIMINT) to the BNB Chain ecosystem, marking a significant expansion of tokenized financial products in Asia's financial hub.

The fund, which boasts assets under management (AUM) exceeding $3.8 billion, represents a cornerstone of CMBI's portfolio. Established in early 2024 as a sub-fund under the CMB International Open-ended Fund Company, a public umbrella open-ended fund vehicle domiciled in Hong Kong, the investment vehicle focuses on low-risk, US dollar-denominated assets. These include deposits and state-backed money market instruments from stable jurisdictions such as the United States, Singapore, the European Union, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. According to data from the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), the fund has enjoyed robust growth since its inception, surging 24% from $2.9 billion in April 2025 to $3.6 billion by August of the same year. This steady appreciation highlights its appeal to conservative investors seeking reliable yields in an era of global economic uncertainty.

Tokenization, the process of converting traditional assets into digital tokens on a blockchain, is at the heart of this collaboration. CMBI is leveraging BNB Chain's infrastructure, to democratize access to the fund for a broader pool of accredited investors while integrating it seamlessly with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. Investors can now subscribe to the fund using stablecoins or traditional fiat, and redeem their holdings through a user-friendly platform. This onchain distribution model not only streamlines transactions but also opens doors to advanced DeFi applications, such as lending platforms and yield farming opportunities, where token holders can earn additional returns on their investments.

Supporting this technical feat is OnChain, a specialized RWA infrastructure provider that bridges the gap between tokenized assets and DeFi ecosystems. OnChain's role ensures that the new tokens can be deployed across a variety of blockchain-based services, allowing users to lend their holdings for interest or stake them for yields without leaving the BNB Chain network.

The partnership with BNB Chain builds on CMBI's earlier foray into tokenization, which saw the same fund digitized on the Solana blockchain in August 2025 through a collaboration with Singapore-based platform DigiFT. That initial effort, touted as the first Hong Kong-Singapore money market fund to go onchain, set the stage for broader experimentation. DigiFT continues to play a pivotal role in the BNB Chain rollout, handling redemptions and ensuring compliance with cross-border standards. BNB Chain network is positioning itself as a go-to platform for institutional-grade RWAs, boasting one of the most vibrant developer communities in the blockchain space.

In an official statement accompanying the launch, BNB Chain hailed the move as a "milestone in bringing RWAs to one of the most active blockchain ecosystems." The network further emphasized the practical benefits. One of such is that the expanding of onchain distribution will allow CMB International and BNB Chain to provide Accredited Investors with direct, blockchain-based access to a top-performing fund with over $3.8 billion AUM. This rhetoric underscores the strategic importance of the project, which could pave the way for more traditional financial giants to dip their toes into crypto waters.

Just weeks prior, online reports surfaced alleging that China's securities regulator had exerted pressure on Hong Kong-based brokerages to suspend their RWA initiatives. According to sources cited in a Reuters investigation from late September 2025, mainland authorities urged firms to pause projects involving tokenized assets, citing concerns over financial stability and capital flight risks. This intervention reflects Beijing's long-standing wariness toward cryptocurrencies, even as Hong Kong carves out a more crypto-friendly niche under the "one country, two systems" framework.

The regulatory crosswinds raise immediate questions about the viability of CMBI's tokenized fund. Does it comply with the evolving guidelines from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the city's de facto central bank? Or does it inadvertently tread into gray areas that could invite scrutiny from across the border? Cointelegraph reached out to the HKMA for clarification on the reported pressures but received no response. Similarly, BNB Chain has yet to address queries on the alignment of this project with local and cross-border regulations.

This tension is emblematic of broader challenges facing the crypto industry in Greater China. While Hong Kong has aggressively positioned itself as a virtual asset hub—licensing crypto exchanges, approving Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, and even exploring stablecoin frameworks, mainland China's outright ban on crypto trading and mining since 2021 creates an uneven playing field. The results into a patchwork of innovation where Hong Kong firms like CMBI can experiment with blockchain, but only up to a point. Recent developments, such as HashKey Exchange's rumored pursuit of a full Hong Kong stock listing this year, further illustrate this duality for crypto natives seeking legitimacy in traditional markets amid whispers of regulatory retreats.

For the global crypto ecosystem, the CMBI-BNB Chain partnership carries weighty implications. Tokenized RWAs have exploded in popularity over the past year, with projections from firms like Boston Consulting Group estimating the market could reach $16 trillion by 2030. Projects like this one demonstrate how blockchains like BNB Chain—known for its low fees, high throughput, and EVM compatibility, can attract institutional capital, bridging the chasm between Wall Street and Web3. In Asia, where stablecoin adoption is surging (with Tether alone holding over 70% of its reserves in US Treasuries), such integrations could accelerate the mainstreaming of DeFi.

As the dust settles on this landmark launch, China Merchants Bank's bold step onto BNB Chain is a litmus test for Hong Kong's crypto aspirations, a proof to blockchain's disruptive potential, and a reminder that in the world of finance, innovation often dances on the edge of regulation.

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