This week multiple tokens were deployed on the Hedera Hashgraph mainnet that resemble institutional money market funds (MMFs). These tokens include names such as BlackRock, Fidelity ILF, State Street, abrdn, and LGIM. Though the funds are not yet live, the activity strongly suggests that Archax, a regulated UK-based digital asset exchange and tokenization platform, is laying the groundwork to bring real-world asset (RWA) products on-chain using Hedera.
The initiative points to Archax’s expanding tokenization efforts. Earlier in 2024, the company began issuing abrdn money market funds as digital tokens on both Ethereum and Hedera. Now, with token contracts referencing some of the world’s largest fund managers deployed on Hedera, the platform appears to be preparing for broader institutional integration. According to Archax CTO Graham Rodford, contracts have been created for all available funds on their exchange, though balances and active usage have yet to appear.
@hbarTaTa is right. We've created the contracts for all funds we have available on @ArchaxEx. Hopefully we will see those with balances on https://t.co/qgWPXa0qpM soon. 👀
— Graham (@Grodfather) July 21, 2025
The use case for $hbar is transactions involving these instruments i.e. buy/sell/transfer as collateral.
What the Contracts Represent — and What They Don’t (Yet)
At the time of writing, none of the deployed tokens show active balances or confirmations from the fund providers themselves. There are no public statements from BlackRock, Fidelity, State Street, or LGIM about tokenizing their funds on Hedera. Therefore, it is critical to interpret this activity as preparatory infrastructure, not official product launches.
The tokens may represent placeholders or test deployments to ensure readiness for institutional onboarding. This is common in tokenization strategies, especially for highly regulated financial instruments like MMFs. By deploying these contracts ahead of time, Archax ensures the technical infrastructure is ready once regulatory and custodial alignment occurs.
For example, Archax’s earlier tokenization of the abrdn Liquidity Fund (Lux) was coordinated with official approvals and clear documentation of fund backing. Similar steps would likely be required before any other tokenized MMFs could be fully launched or offered to clients.
Why Hedera Was Chosen for Deployment
Hedera provides several unique benefits for financial institutions exploring tokenized RWAs. It offers fixed, low transaction fees (about $0.001 per transfer), high throughput (~10,000 transactions per second), and finality in seconds. These characteristics support the needs of institutional fund operations, especially when executing high-volume, low-latency transactions.
Hedera also supports tokenization through its native HTS (Hedera Token Service), which allows programmable assets to operate at the consensus layer without requiring complex smart contracts. This simplifies compliance, auditability, and integration with traditional finance systems.
Archax has consistently cited these capabilities as reasons for integrating Hedera into its tokenization stack. Their use of Hedera also aligns with growing interest among enterprises and governments exploring the network for real-world asset initiatives.
Potential Impact on Real-World Asset Adoption
The institutional money market fund sector represents trillions of dollars in capital globally. In the U.S. alone, MMFs hold over $6 trillion in assets as of mid-2025. Tokenizing even a small portion of this market on blockchain platforms can introduce new efficiencies, particularly in settlement, collateral usage, and 24/7 transferability.
If these token contracts on Hedera are later linked to live funds with regulatory approval, it could provide new momentum for RWA adoption in the ecosystem. It would also help validate Hedera as a viable base layer for regulated financial products.
For Hedera and its native token HBAR, increased usage in token transactions involving MMFs could add to network activity and potentially drive long-term utility. However, this outcome depends on formal fund launches and sustained institutional engagement.
Archax’s Regulatory Position and Role
Archax is authorized by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to operate as a multilateral trading facility, custodian, and broker. This gives the firm a unique position to serve as a bridge between traditional finance and tokenized asset markets. Their platform allows institutions to list tokenized assets in compliance with UK regulations and to support onboarding of new digital-native instruments.
In addition to Hedera, Archax also operates on Ethereum and has used both networks for earlier deployments. However, Hedera’s performance and cost advantages may prove critical for scaling large institutional use cases, especially those involving high-frequency transfers or embedded smart contract logic.
Next Steps and What to Watch
While the token contracts are visible on the Hedera mainnet, no live balances or secondary market activity has occurred. The next key milestones to watch include:
- Official fund announcements from Archax or affiliated asset managers.
- RWA aggregators like rwa.xyz listing balances or usage data for the new tokens.
- Institutional usage metrics such as token transfers or integration with custody platforms.
It is also worth tracking Archax’s broader expansion, particularly in the United States. As regulatory clarity around tokenized RWAs continues to evolve, platforms like Archax may seek to serve global fund providers with multi-jurisdictional infrastructure.
While the funds are not yet live, Archax’s deployment of token contracts for major MMFs on Hedera is an important technical signal. It shows that institutional players are actively preparing for real-world asset tokenization on performant public ledgers. Hedera’s infrastructure offers cost-effective, high-speed support for these types of use cases, and Archax’s strategy points toward future adoption pathways. For observers tracking institutional blockchain adoption, this marks a key development to monitor closely.
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