Key highlights:
- Stellar Development Foundation has made a strategic investment in UK-based Archax to bolster the growth of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).
- Archax has integrated the Stellar blockchain into its tokenization platform and aims to bring more institutional-grade assets onchain.
- The deal builds on a growing trend of collaboration between blockchain firms and traditional finance, including Archax’s previous partnership with Ripple.
The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), the non-profit organization supporting the Stellar blockchain, has made a direct investment in Archax, a UK-regulated digital asset exchange, broker, and custodian. The investment forms part of a broader strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the adoption of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) through the Stellar network.
As traditional finance increasingly embraces blockchain technology, Archax has positioned itself as a key player in the tokenization space. The firm has already integrated Stellar into its in-house tokenization engine and recently tokenized an Aberdeen money market fund using the network. Archax’s existing relationships with financial institutions are expected to bring a broader array of institutional assets onto Stellar.
Institutional adoption of tokenized RWAs gaining momentum
The partnership comes at a pivotal time, with institutional demand for digital asset solutions surging. According to Archax CEO Graham Rodford, 86% of institutions already hold or plan to allocate to digital assets by the end of 2025. “The Archax vision has always been that all financial instruments will move onchain,” Rodford stated, emphasizing the significance of having strategic investors like Stellar on board.
The broader RWA tokenization market has grown dramatically, from $15.2 billion in December 2024 to more than $24 billion by mid-2025, an 85% year-on-year increase. Industry forecasts from McKinsey, Ripple, and BCG suggest that the market could surpass $1 trillion by 2030, driven by cost efficiencies, faster settlement, and global accessibility.
According to data from real-world asset tokenization tracker rwa.xyz, there is currently $458.7 million worth of tokenized RWAs on the Stellar blockchain, making it the 5th-largest blockchain for RWAs. The vast majority of tokenized RWAs on Stellar is represented by Franklin Templeton’s BENJI money fund.
Overview of RWA tokens on the Stellar network. Image source: rwa.xyz
Building on previous collaborations with Ripple and others
The SDF investment also echoes Archax’s previous blockchain partnerships. In late 2024, Archax collaborated with Ripple to launch a tokenized version of Abrdn’s $4.77 billion US dollar Liquidity Fund on the XRP Ledger. The partnership demonstrated how tokenized money market funds could offer real operational efficiencies and be used as margin collateral, an approach now being explored using the Stellar blockchain as well.
Archax further expanded its reach with the acquisition of Deutsche Digital Assets, a BaFin-regulated firm, enabling a push into European crypto exchange-traded products. Additionally, its work with Lloyds Bank and Aberdeen to use tokenized funds for FX collateral transfers reflects the growing institutional appetite for blockchain-powered financial infrastructure.
With more than 100 funds now available in tokenized form through Archax, many now accessible via Stellar, this partnership marks another step toward integrating traditional financial assets with decentralized technologies.
Source: https://coincodex.com/article/71692/stellar-development-foundation-invests-in-archax-to-accelerate-rwa-tokenization/
