On August 8, 2025, CMB International, a subsidiary of China Merchants Bank, announced a collaboration with Singapore's digital exchange DigiFT and Solana public chain service provider OnChain to tokenize a US dollar money market fund recognized in both Hong Kong and Singapore. The fund will issue tokens called CMBMINT on-chain. Notably, this marks the first instance of a tokenized fund across multiple jurisdictions, and the issuance led by a major Asian financial institution will serve as a good compliance model for future multi-regional cooperation in RWA (Real World Assets).

By August 13, Solana officially announced that it would be the primary chain for the fund's tokenization, making it the first tokenized public fund product on the Solana public chain, which has been met with optimistic market reactions. In the past 24 hours, Solana's price rose by 15%, and within three hours of the announcement, it surged another 5%, breaking the $200 mark.

This article will interpret how the institutional network behind this collaboration operates, CMB International's blockchain layout and ambitions, and the investment content contained within the on-chain fund CMBMINT itself.

How Was Solana's First On-Chain Fund Achieved?

The fund tokenization project brings together multiple forces from traditional finance and the blockchain sector. CMB International Asset Management provides high-quality fund assets and regulatory compliance assurance, DigiFT offers the on-chain issuance and trading platform, and OnChain is responsible for underlying technology deployment and public chain distribution support. The three parties worked together to achieve the on-chain issuance of a traditional money market fund.

The tokenized asset is the CMB International US Dollar Money Market Fund (CMBMINT), which was established in February 2024. Seventy percent of the funds are invested in low-volatility instruments such as short-term high-quality US dollar deposits, treasury bills, and commercial paper, while 30% is invested in non-US dollar-denominated short-term deposits and high-quality money market instruments, overall pursuing capital preservation and stable returns.

Since its inception, the fund has performed excellently, ranking first among similar money market funds in the Asia-Pacific region as of July 31, 2025, according to Bloomberg. As it is a Hong Kong-Singapore mutual recognition fund, it is subject to regulation from both regions, with investors classified as qualified professional investors. Therefore, the project initially limits subscriptions for fund tokens to recognized investors in Singapore through the DigiFT platform to ensure participants meet local regulatory requirements (in the future, depending on the level of regulatory openness, it may expand to institutional clients in Hong Kong and other jurisdictions).

The annualized yield for each share remains above 4%, source: CMB official website

With the collaboration of DigiFT and OnChain, the money market fund completed the on-chain mapping and distribution of real assets. Specifically, DigiFT, as a licensed exchange, issues tokens linked to the fund's net asset value (NAV), with each token representing a certain share of the fund, and holders enjoying corresponding rights to the returns. Notably, this issuance pioneers the multi-chain deployment of public fund tokens; in addition to Solana, CMBMINT tokens will subsequently be deployed on Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Plume Network.

Regarding liquidity and redemption mechanisms, CMBMINT fund tokens support multi-currency subscriptions and redemptions, allowing investors to use both fiat currency and mainstream stablecoins like USDC and USDT for transactions. Through smart contracts designed on the DigiFT platform, the project achieves an almost real-time T+0 redemption experience: "After submitting a redemption request, investors can directly exchange fund tokens on-chain for an equivalent amount of stablecoins or fiat currency, with funds arriving instantly, without waiting for the traditional fund redemption 'T+N' cycle."

Behind this is the collaborative effort between DigiFT and the CMB International Asset Management team, with DigiFT preparing liquidity pools for the fund tokens, while CMB International ensures the connection between on-chain redemptions and the liquidation of fund assets by allocating underlying assets such as bank demand deposits and short-term bonds. The price of the fund tokens is linked to the fund's NAV, adjusting daily based on the value fluctuations of the fund's assets, allowing on-chain holders to transparently view the fund's asset composition and performance.

As the on-chain version of the Hong Kong-Singapore mutual recognition fund, CMBMINT adopts an innovative and robust model for regulatory compliance. The fund itself remains under the supervision of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (through the mutual recognition mechanism), while the issuance and trading of tokens occur on the platform of the licensed institution DigiFT in Singapore. This "dual regulatory" framework ensures that both the underlying assets and the trading environment are in a legal and compliant state. Additionally, the smart contracts for the fund tokens have undergone rigorous security audits and incorporate risk reserve and Proof of Reserve mechanisms to ensure the safety, transparency, and sufficiency of on-chain assets.

CMB International's Blockchain Layout

As a state-owned traditional financial institution, CMB International is among the early players to enter the blockchain industry. It has built its blockchain network through investments, funds, and business collaborations. These early explorations not only provided it with a competitive edge in the industry but also laid the foundation for obtaining virtual asset licenses and launching innovative businesses such as on-chain funds. From underlying technology and public chain ecosystems to decentralized finance and virtual asset services, CMB International's blockchain journey is comprehensive and in-depth.

Investment in Underlying Technology (2017-2018)

CMB International's earliest involvement in the blockchain field dates back to late 2017. At that time, it participated in the Pre-A round financing of the Chinese blockchain technology startup "Cryptape." Cryptape was founded by former core Ethereum developer Xie Hanjian and focuses on the research and development of underlying blockchain technology, having developed the enterprise-level chain architecture CITA, which was open-sourced in July 2017. CITA pioneered a blockchain architecture combining "microservices + logical nodes," significantly enhancing the performance and scalability of blockchain networks.

Shortly thereafter, in July 2018, CMB International invested in the Chinese star public chain project Nervos Network. Nervos is a layered architecture public chain ecosystem aimed at solving the scalability challenges of blockchain. Notably, CMB International not only provided funding but also facilitated collaboration between the invested project and the China Merchants Bank system: for example, Nervos and the Cryptape team assisted China Merchants Bank in developing an open permissioned chain to meet the needs of financial services using consortium chain technology.

Ecosystem Fund and Diversified Expansion (2019-2022)

After gaining a preliminary understanding of public chain fundamentals, CMB International accelerated its investment pace in blockchain application ecosystems. Starting in 2019, its investment team delved into blockchain application directions such as payment clearing, tokenization, and identity verification, and discussed decentralized finance (DeFi) service solutions with institutions like the Nervos Foundation, nurturing broader cooperation opportunities.

In May 2021, CMB International, together with Nervos officials, jointly launched a blockchain ecosystem fund called "InNervation," with a total amount of $50 million, planning to invest in blockchain startups with practical application prospects globally over three years. The fund focuses on DApps, DeFi protocols, NFT platforms, and Layer 1/Layer 2 infrastructure construction based on Nervos and related ecosystems, providing funding support ranging from $200,000 to $2 million for early-stage projects.

In addition to the public chain ecosystem, CMB International has also continued to pay attention to consortium chains and enterprise service sectors. In July 2022, the blockchain infrastructure provider "Rivtower" completed a Pre-B round financing of several tens of millions of RMB, with CMB International continuing to increase its investment as an existing shareholder. Rivtower was established by a domestic open-source consortium chain technology team and developed the world's first cloud-native blockchain framework CITA-Cloud, providing underlying technical support for the industrial internet and government-enterprise markets. CMB International's continuous follow-up investments in its A+ and Pre-B rounds indicate its long-term optimism about the blockchain infrastructure sector and further solidify its influence in the domestic consortium chain/Web3 infrastructure space.

Exploration of Virtual Asset Services (2022-2025)

As blockchain and financial applications gradually converge, CMB International has begun to explore new fields that integrate digital assets and financial technology in recent years. Between 2022 and 2023, CMB International served multiple times as the exclusive placement agent for Hong Kong-listed company Arta TechFin (279.HK), assisting it in completing stock issuance and convertible bond issuance financing. Arta TechFin, founded by Zheng Zhigang, Executive Vice Chairman of Hong Kong's New World Group, aims to connect Web2 and Web3 using new technologies like blockchain, providing high-end financial services that integrate virtual and traditional assets. Its products include the Arta Wallet, a wallet and custody platform using world-class security technology, and the Arta STO, a regulated digital securities issuance platform based on blockchain.

These forward-looking investments have also earned CMB International recognition from regulatory authorities. On July 14, 2025, CMB International Securities Limited officially received approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, becoming the first Chinese bank-affiliated brokerage in Hong Kong to obtain a virtual asset trading service license. This means CMB International can legally provide trading services for qualified investors, including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, expanding its business scope from traditional stocks to the digital asset field.

U.S. Public Chains Collaborate with Chinese Institutions: Who Is Behind This "Century Cooperation"?

The successful realization of this cross-border on-chain fund involves two key institutions, DigiFT and OnChain, one connecting with CMB International through regulatory compliance and the other focusing on public chain technology issuance support to connect with public chains like Solana. Who are they?

DigiFT: A Pioneer in On-Chain Compliant Exchanges

DigiFT is a Singapore fintech company established in 2021, dedicated to creating a compliant and decentralized parallel on-chain digital asset exchange. Its founder, Henry Zhang, has a senior banking background, which has made DigiFT prioritize regulatory compliance from the very beginning.

Henry Zhang has nearly 13 years of experience as a senior executive in foreign banks in the Chinese-speaking region, source: LinkedIn

DigiFT is the world's first on-chain trading platform recognized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as a Recognized Market Operator (RMO) and holds a Capital Markets Services (CMS) license. With this dual licensing, DigiFT can legally provide on-chain security token issuance and trading services to qualified investors. In terms of technological innovation, DigiFT was the first to launch a compliant on-chain Automated Market Maker (AMM) mechanism, combining the efficiency of decentralized trading with traditional regulatory requirements. Additionally, the platform has issued some of the world's first tokenized U.S. Treasury bond depositary receipts, demonstrating the feasibility of bringing real financial assets into the DeFi space.

In 2025, DigiFT also obtained a digital asset custody license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, extending its business scope to compliant custody services and further enhancing its end-to-end RWA solution capabilities. In the CMBMINT project, DigiFT plays the role of issuer and exchange: it issues tokens linked to the fund's net asset value and provides subscription, trading, and redemption channels to qualified investors through its platform.

In fact, prior to this collaboration, DigiFT had already completed multiple RWA tokenization projects. In February 2025, DigiFT partnered with Invesco to launch a $630 million tokenized private credit fund (iSNR), deployed on the Arbitrum chain, supporting USDC/USDT subscriptions and expanding to the Plume network. In March 2025, it launched two tokenized index funds tracking AI stocks (such as Apple and Tesla) and major crypto assets. DigiFT serves as the on-chain tokenization distribution partner for UBS, supporting products like uMINT (U.S. dollar money market fund), and in August of this year, it collaborated with KuCoin to use uMINT as collateral on the platform. Additionally, they have engaged in varying degrees of collaboration with institutions and projects such as HashKey Capital, FundBridge, Wellington Management, Libeara, Chainlink, IOST, WSPN, and GSR in the field of tokenized physical assets.

It is precisely because DigiFT possesses mature compliance operation experience and innovative on-chain trading technology that CMB International can confidently entrust the management of fund token issuance and circulation to them. Traditional institutions are responsible for asset and compliance oversight, while innovative platforms handle technical implementation and market liquidity, allowing both to leverage their strengths.

OnChain: The RWA Technology Driver

The Onchain Foundation originated from the Lisk Foundation, established in 2016, which raised 14,000 BTC through token issuance that year, aiming to create a blockchain SDK for JavaScript developers and build a "blockchain network" composed of multiple sidechains, attempting to democratize access to blockchain technology. However, as the industry converged towards Ethereum's EVM at the standard level, the appeal of non-EVM sidechains diminished, coupled with the emergence of new scaling solutions like Layer 2, the early Lisk technology roadmap gradually faced limitations.

By the end of 2022, internal research at Onchain found that even large Layer 1 infrastructure projects still faced challenges in commercial sustainability. In 2023, the team made a strategic adjustment, restructuring the foundation into the Onchain Foundation, a non-profit organization incubating multiple product lines in a "Venture Builder" model. This transformation retained the original cross-disciplinary core team of about 100 people and established Onchain Ventures AG as the operational department, while also setting up legal entities in Zug, Switzerland, and Abu Dhabi for different business lines, achieving a separation of governance and execution.

Current corporate structure of Onchain, source: Onchain official website

Today, the Onchain Foundation focuses on a diversified layout of blockchain infrastructure and applications, including Layer 2 Rollup technology, the smart wallet Pass App, and a research platform for real-world use cases. It is also an early member of the Optimism Superchain, collaborating with Optimism, Base, Worldchain, and others to build an interoperable "super network." This dual-track approach of technology and ecosystem allows Onchain to quickly enter emerging fields such as RWA tokenization.

Onchain's 1,500 Genesis Member NFTs, source: OpenSea

In the CMBMINT project, Onchain serves as the RWA technology service provider for the Solana public chain, responsible for the deployment and distribution support of tokens on Solana and other public chains. This role is not merely a technical outsourcing; it reflects its long-term accumulation in multi-chain architecture, cross-chain interaction, and public chain performance optimization. Compared to DigiFT, which relies on licensing and compliance, Onchain provides irreplaceable support in technical implementation and on-chain distribution, allowing CMB International's traditional fund assets to seamlessly connect to the high-performance Solana network and expand into a multi-chain ecosystem.

The Era of RWA for Large Institutions

An increasing number of institutions are collaborating with on-chain projects, reflecting a trend that only when the forces of regulation, assets, and technology combine can RWA projects truly land and succeed. From a broader perspective, Asian financial institutions (Hong Kong's new policies, Singapore's sandbox) are building a stage for such cross-border blockchain innovations. In the future, as more traditional giants and blockchain innovation companies "bridge the gap," we have reason to expect more cross-market and cross-technology collaborations that will drive the maturation of real-world assets on-chain, bringing new possibilities for the globalization of financial markets.

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