The Mantra blockchain community has launched a $108,888,888 ecosystem fund aimed toward accelerating the expansion of startups centered on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and decentralized finance (DeFi), amid rising demand for steady, asset-backed digital merchandise.
Mantra, a layer-1 (L1) blockchain constructed for tokenized RWAs, launched the Mantra Ecosystem Fund (MEF) to speed up the expansion and adoption of tasks and startups constructing on its community, based on an April 7 announcement shared with Cointelegraph.
Mantra mentioned it’s going to deploy the capital over the following 4 years amongst “high-potential blockchain tasks” worldwide, with funding alternatives sourced by way of Mantra’s community of companions. The fund’s backers embody a variety of institutional companions together with Laser Digital, Shorooq, Brevan Howard Digital, Valor Capital, Three Level Capital and Amber Group.
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Mantra CEO John Patrick Mullin mentioned the fund will function an “open-arms coverage, welcoming tasks at any developmental stage globally with a specific deal with RWA’s and DeFi.” Mullin instructed Cointelegraph:
“The MEF thesis is to spend money on top-tier groups constructing RWA and DeFi functions, in addition to complimentary infrastructure, that may each straight and not directly assist the broader ecosystem.”
Mantra goals to turn out to be the underlying infrastructure layer for tokenized asset points worldwide, Mullin mentioned.
Supply: Mantra
The launch of the fund comes a month after Mantra turned the primary DeFi platform to acquire a digital asset service supplier (VASP) license underneath Dubai’s Digital Property Regulatory Authority (VARA).
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Investor demand grows for RWAs
The timing of the fund’s launch aligns with rising institutional curiosity in RWAs, that are seen by some as a hedge towards crypto market volatility and broader financial uncertainty.
World fears and uncertainty round US President Donald Trump’s tariffs have impacted investor sentiment throughout markets.
Regardless of a broader market hunch triggered by US tariff-related considerations, the worth of tokenized RWAs just lately surged to a document excessive. In line with information from RWA.xyz, complete RWA market capitalization reached greater than $19.6 billion as of early April, up from $17 billion in early February.
RWA world market dashboard. Supply: RWA.xyz
Business watchers beforehand instructed Cointelegraph that Bitcoin’s lack of upside momentum could drive RWAs to a $50 billion all-time excessive earlier than the top of 2025.
The world’s largest asset supervisor, BlackRock, has additionally signaled assist for the RWA area.
BlackRock BUIDL capital deployed by chain. Supply: Token Terminal, Leon Waidmann
BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) noticed an over three-fold improve within the three weeks main as much as March 26, from $615 million to $1.87 billion.
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