Asset Manager F/m Seeks SEC Approval to Tokenize Treasury ETF Shares - A Watershed Moment for Digital Finance
An asset manager just lobbed a grenade into the traditional finance fortress—filing with the SEC to turn Treasury ETF shares into blockchain tokens.
The Tokenization Gambit
This isn't about creating a new crypto coin from scratch. It's about taking an existing, regulated financial instrument—a Treasury Exchange-Traded Fund—and wrapping it in a digital skin. Think of it as putting a classic painting into a bulletproof, transparent, and instantly transferable frame. The underlying asset stays the same, but how you hold and move it changes completely.
Why the SEC's Stamp Matters
F/m's move cuts straight to the heart of modern finance's bureaucracy. Getting the green light would mean a regulated fund could live on a blockchain, bypassing layers of custodial middlemen and settlement delays. It promises 24/7 trading, fractional ownership for the masses, and a ledger so clear you could eat off it. The irony? It takes a request to the ultimate legacy gatekeeper to potentially unlock a borderless, automated future.
The Ripple Effect
Approval wouldn't just be a win for one firm. It would blast open the doors for tokenizing everything from real estate to private equity. It validates the infrastructure that crypto-native projects have been building for years. Suddenly, the 'digital asset' conversation shifts from speculative memecoins to the bedrock of the global economy: sovereign debt.
A cynical observer might note that Wall Street only embraces innovation when it can see a fee attached. Tokenization promises efficiency, but you can bet the financial engineers are already designing new and complex revenue streams around it.
The bottom line? This filing is a direct challenge. It asks if the old guard is ready to let the new tools rebuild the foundation. The SEC's answer will either be a historic nod to progress or a stark reminder of how slowly giants turn.
F/m Calls Proposal First-of-Its-Kind Bid to Tokenize ETF Shares
In a press release announcing the filing, F/m described the proposal as the first attempt by an ETF issuer to obtain US regulatory approval specifically for tokenized shares of a registered investment company.
Under the plan, blockchain-based shares would carry the same CUSIP identifier as existing TBIL shares and offer identical rights, fees, voting privileges and economic exposure.
According to the firm, the initiative is not intended to create a new digital asset. Instead, tokenization would function as an alternative method for recording ownership, alongside traditional book-entry systems used by brokerages and custodians.
The filing places F/m alongside a growing number of traditional asset managers experimenting with tokenization.
Franklin Templeton has already launched blockchain-enabled US government money market funds, moving share ownership records onchain while maintaining compliance with federal securities laws.
F/m’s proposal extends that model to a listed Treasury ETF, potentially expanding access to tokenized fixed-income products within regulated markets.
F/m Investments becomes first ETF issuer to file w/ SEC for tokenized ETF shares…
Would be for the F/m US Treasury 3 Month Bill ETF (TBIL).
"Tokenization is coming to securities markets whether we f #Bitcoin Macro hedge play heating up
pic.twitter.com/vjJzL89iB8
F/m also drew a sharp distinction between its approach and crypto-native instruments such as stablecoins or unregistered tokens.
The company emphasized that tokenized TBIL shares would remain subject to independent board oversight, daily portfolio disclosure, third-party custody and audits, as well as the investor protections embedded in the 1940 Act.
If approved, the structure would allow TBIL to trade through both traditional brokerage channels and digital-native, token-aware platforms using a single share class. F/m said the fund’s investment strategy and portfolio composition would remain unchanged.
NYSE’s Tokenization Push Signals Shift Beyond Pilot Projects
The application arrives as tokenization gains traction across financial markets.
Just days earlier, the New York Stock Exchange revealed plans for a new trading venue designed to support around-the-clock trading and onchain settlement of tokenized stocks and ETFs, underscoring the industry’s push beyond pilot projects toward broader adoption.
Market forecasts suggest the opportunity could be significant. Standard Chartered previously projected that tokenized real-world assets could reach a $2 trillion market capitalization by 2028.
In a recent research, Web3 digital property firm Animoca Brands said that tokenization of RWAs could unlock a $400 trillion traditional finance market.
Last month, Libeara, the blockchain infrastructure platform backed by Standard Chartered’s venture arm SC Ventures, rolled out a new tokenized gold investment fund in Singapore, bringing one of the world’s oldest safe-haven assets onto digital rails.
The fund, launched in partnership with FundBridge Capital, allows professional investors to gain exposure to gold through blockchain-based tokens issued on Libeara’s ledger.
