Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Capital joins tokenization push as Coinbase takes stake in onchain fund

Mubadala Capital, the asset management arm of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, has launched a tokenized version of one of its private markets strategies aimed at qualified investors. The fund uses infrastructure from the UAE-based tokenization firm KAIO and is available on multiple blockchain networks, including Coinbase's Base network, Solana, and Sui. Since its launch, the tokenized fund has attracted approximately $75 million in onchain assets. Additionally, Coinbase has taken a stake in the fund on its own corporate balance sheet, marking an early instance of a publicly traded crypto company investing directly in a tokenized private markets product. The specific amount of Coinbase’s investment was not disclosed.

Mubadala Capital manages about $430 billion in assets and joins other major financial firms such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Apollo, Fidelity, Janus Henderson, and Invesco that are increasingly adopting tokenized funds. Most of these efforts have focused on tokenizing traditional securities like U.S. Treasuries, money market funds, and private credit. The tokenization of assets is seen as a growing sector within digital assets, with industry analysts such as Citi projecting that tokenized securities could reach a market value of $5.5 trillion by 2030, and Boston Consulting Group and Ripple estimating the broader tokenized asset market, across all asset classes, might hit $18.9 trillion by 2033.

KAIO provides the technology infrastructure that issues and manages Mubadala’s tokenized fund. It hosts other asset managers like Hamilton Lane, Brevan Howard, and Laser Digital, supporting a total of $144 million in tokenized funds on its platform. Mubadala’s head of Capital Solutions, Max Franzetti, emphasized that this strategy offers access to exclusive investment opportunities that are typically unavailable to most investors, and that tokenization broadens access to a new class of qualified investors without compromising the firm’s institutional standards.

Coinbase Institutional’s head, Brett Tejpaul, noted that Coinbase’s investment reflects increasing interest in regulated tokenized assets as components of treasury holdings. He highlighted that regulated tokenized assets could integrate into a more transparent, composable, and accessible onchain financial ecosystem available to qualified investors in eligible jurisdictions. This development aligns with the UAE’s broader goal to establish itself as a leading hub for tokenized finance, supported by active regulatory frameworks and a growing ecosystem including banks, sovereign investors, and financial firms experimenting with tokenized funds, bonds, and stablecoins.