Tokenization platform Securitize has partnered with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Mantle to launch an institutional fund designed to earn yield on a diverse basket of cryptocurrencies, the companies said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Similar to how a traditional index fund tracks a mix of stocks, the Mantle Index Four (MI4) Fund aims to offer investors exposure to cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>), Ether (ETH<\/a>), and Solana (SOL<\/a>), as well as stablecoins tracking the US dollar, Securitize said<\/a> in an April 24 announcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n The fund also integrates liquid staking tokens \u2014 including Mantle\u2019s mETH, Bybit\u2019s bbSOL, and Ethena\u2019s USDe \u2014 in a bid to enhance returns with onchain yield, according to the announcement.<\/p>\n The launch comes as retail and institutions alike increase exposure to cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, as a hedge amid escalating macroeconomic uncertainty<\/a>. <\/p>\n The market capitalization-weighted index fund aspires to \u201cbecome the de facto SPX or S&P 500 of crypto,\u201d Timothy Chen, Mantle\u2019s global head of strategy, said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n The company offers institutions a way to generate yield from digital assets. One of its liquid staking products, Mantle Staked Ether (mETH), yields holders approximately 3.78% APR as of April 24, according to data<\/a> from DefiLlama. The protocol has more than $680 million in total value locked (TVL).\u00a0<\/p>\n Securitize is one of the most popular platforms for tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) for institutions, with approximately 71% of market share as of April 24, according to data from RWA.xyz. Its largest affiliated fund \u2014 BlackRock Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUILD) \u2014 has more than $2.5 billion in net assets.<\/p>\n In March, Securitize co-founder and CEO Carlos Domingo told Cointelegraph that demand for tokenized funds<\/a> is accelerating as \u201c[i]nstitutional investors, private equity firms, and credit managers [turn] to tokenization to enhance efficiency, reduce operational friction, and improve liquidity.\u201d<\/p>\n\u2018S&P 500 of crypto\u2019<\/h2>\n