WisdomTree is one of the trail blazing incumbent asset managers in the tokenization field. Last year it launched WisdomTree Prime, a retail mobile app for digital assets, which supports Bitcoin, Ether, tokenized gold and WisdomTree digital funds, including a tokenized money market fund (MMF). Now it has launched WisdomTree Connect targeting businesses and institutions.
A key difference between Prime and Connect is Prime users access their funds via the app, whereas Connect users can hold the tokenized MMFs in self hosted wallets or via a third party custodian. Over time it sees this as the foundation of a B2B2C distribution platform enabling its digital funds to be available on other customer facing platforms.
“With increasing interest in tokenized real world assets, WisdomTree Connect opens up additional business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) opportunities for WisdomTree to provide access to digital funds to on-chain firms without leaving the ecosystem,” said Will Peck, Head of Digital Assets at WisdomTree.
However, WisdomTree continues to be a regulated institution, so holders of digital funds are required to onboard onto the platform. While they can transfer tokens 24/7, they can only sell to other registered users.
Previously its main digital MMF, WTGXX, was issued on the Stellar blockchain (market cap $8m). Today’s announcement refers to a new issuance of the same MMF on the Ethereum blockchain. This is the main token available in WisdomTree Connect.
It also supports purchases using the USDC stablecoin. However, technically the USDC gets converted into dollars, which it then uses to buy the funds. So it’s not a straight token swap. The asset manager now has its own trust charter, which enables it to provide custody and also to issue a stablecoin.
WisdomTree’s original technology partner was Securrency, which is now owned by the DTCC.
WisdomTree’s vision
The CEO and founder of WisdomTree, Jonathan Steinberg, spoke about his vision for tokenization earlier this year. “One of the real advantages, I would say, will be around the user experience,” he said. “And by that, I mean you’re going to get much greater control of your assets as opposed to the infrastructure that exists today – where your savings, your investments and your payments are all connected much more closely. That kind of flexibility will prove to be, I think, of tremendous excitement to investors over time.”
