What are tokenized treasuries?
Tokenized treasuries are blockchain-based tokens that represent ownership of US Treasury bills, notes, or money-market funds. The token holder receives the underlying yield (typically 4-5% in 2024) while gaining 24/7 liquidity, programmability, and DeFi composability. The category exploded in 2023-2024 with BlackRock’s BUIDL fund reaching USD 500M+ AUM and Ondo Finance’s OUSG surpassing USD 200M.
Why tokenization matters
Five operational benefits. (1) 24/7 settlement vs. T+1 traditional trading. (2) Fractional access — minimum sizes drop from USD 10K+ to single-digit dollar amounts. (3) DeFi collateral — token holders use the position as borrowing collateral in DeFi protocols. (4) Cross-border access — non-US investors gain exposure without traditional brokerage friction. (5) Programmable yield — yield flows to wallets automatically, can compose with smart contract logic.
The major issuers
Three dominant categories. (1) BlackRock BUIDL — USD-denominated, US-investor-only, KYC-gated. (2) Ondo Finance OUSG — broader access, gated for accredited investors and qualifying non-US persons. (3) Franklin Templeton BENJI — government money market fund tokenised on Stellar and Polygon. Each issuer balances regulatory access constraints with target customer composition.
Regulatory framework
Tokenized treasuries sit at the intersection of securities law (SEC registration or Reg D exemption), banking regulation (custody and transfer agent functions), and crypto regulation (CASP-type intermediary licensing in jurisdictions like EU MiCA). The US Treasury’s Office of Financial Research published 2023-2024 reports treating tokenized treasuries as legitimate financial innovation with manageable systemic risk.
Türkiye context
For Türk investors, tokenized treasuries offer USD-denominated yield without US brokerage account requirements — particularly valuable given TRY depreciation. However, KVK Article 30 imposes withholding on foreign-source interest income, requiring tax structuring through DTT-eligible vehicles to optimise net yield. Türk CASP-licensed exchanges that offer tokenized treasury products will need SPK coordination for cross-border securities regulation.
Related: Real World Asset Tokenization, Liquid Staking Derivative, CASP.