The issuer of the stablecoin USDT, Tether, has launched an asset tokenization platform called Hadron, aimed at simplifying the process of tokenizing various real-world assets. Hadron offers a comprehensive set of compliance tools that facilitate a more convenient and secure circulation of asset tokenization. The platform supports the tokenization of both ordinary and complex assets, promising to balance the development of the RWA (Real-World Assets) sector. Hadron strikes a balance between user experience and decentralization, providing users with complete self-custody of their asset control. Tether's Hadron will transform the digital asset ecosystem, bringing fairness and justice to the global economic competitive landscape. Tether's strategic position and financial scale make it an important force in driving the prosperity of RWAs.

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On November 14, the stablecoin issuer Tether announced the launch of its asset tokenization platform, Hadron by Tether, which aims to simplify the process of tokenizing various real-world assets, including stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate, funds, and loyalty points. Tether claims that Hadron integrates all the technology and expertise Tether has accumulated over the past decade, providing asset tokenization services to institutions, fund managers, governments, and private companies. Odaily Planet Daily will briefly introduce its product features and impact in this article (with a little surprise at the end). Hadron by Tether offers users an intuitive platform for issuing and managing the entire lifecycle of digital tokenized assets, providing modularity, security, reliability, and a seamless user experience, including the following highlights: The RWA track faces more compliance challenges than other blockchain tracks due to its close relationship with traditional finance. Different regulatory requirements in various countries and regions, as well as different management methods for real-world assets, pose challenges to the global circulation of asset tokenization. Therefore, compliance is a key focus of the Hadron platform, which provides users with a comprehensive compliance toolkit, including KYC, anti-money laundering (AML), transaction monitoring, risk management, and secondary market ecosystem monitoring. These services cover both on-chain and centralized exchanges. A robust compliance framework helps build trust with investors and regulators, paving the way for the circulation of asset tokenization. The RWA track was also hot for a period in 2023, but at that time, most DeFi protocols chose to tokenize US Treasury bonds or some synthetic assets, such as Sky (formerly Maker) and Synthetix, while there were few attempts to tokenize other types of assets by leading players. This was due to the declining on-chain DeFi yields, making on-chain US Treasury bonds popular, leading to an imbalance in the development of the RWA category and minimal benefits for real-world enterprises. However, Tether's newly launched asset tokenization platform Hadron not only supports tokenization of ordinary assets, such as stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies or supported by commodities, stocks, bonds, and funds, but also supports tokenization of more complex assets, such as structured products (backed by a basket of collateral), real estate, artworks, and loyalty points. With Tether's strong capabilities, it is expected to balance the development of the RWA track, providing opportunities for some nations and enterprises to seek alternative financing and traditional capital markets. On November 14, the Hadron platform also began testing, and users can tokenize assets on the Hadron platform in just four steps, as follows: In addition to providing a seamless and convenient asset tokenization experience, Hadron also enables users to have complete self-custody (users always maintain full control and corresponding responsibility for their assets). It utilizes a very intuitive user interface to set up and configure multi-signature wallets, including hardware wallets. Many previous RWA projects tended to adopt centralized management and operation methods, whether in areas such as real asset review, asset custody, or user KYC verification. While this can make the operation of RWA smoother and more compliant with regulatory requirements, excessive centralization always poses significant risks. Hadron grants users sufficient rights and freedom in KYC, modularity, and asset custody, balancing both the user experience for issuers and decentralization. On April 14 of this year, Tether's CEO Paolo Ardoino announced on the X platform that Tether's asset tokenization platform would soon be open (exactly 7 months later) and has already indicated the platform's keywords: fully non-custodial, multi-chain, multiple asset types, and customizable. The birth of Hadron may indeed integrate all the technology and expertise Tether has accumulated over the past decade, while also opening the door to Tether's next decade. Paolo Ardoino stated at the launch of Hadron: "We believe Hadron by Tether will significantly improve the financial industry. By leveraging all of Tether's technology (which has already issued $125 billion in USDT), we will make asset tokenization simpler, safer, and more scalable. Our goal is to create new opportunities for businesses and governments while making the digital asset space more accessible and transparent." Former VanEck advisor Gabor Gurbacs posted on the X platform stating, "By 2030, the value of tokenized assets is expected to reach approximately $10.90 trillion, with real estate, debt, and investment funds being the top three tokenized assets. Private equity, entertainment, collectibles, and data are other areas worth noting. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin capital market, stablecoins, and asset tokenization have the potential to lead the post-ETF world, bringing a $10 trillion influx potential for new tools and changing the way the new generation invests." Quantum Economics analyst Alexandre Lores also commented: "Tether's Hadron will change the entire digital asset ecosystem—from Bitcoin to the tokenization of real-world assets. The era of large-scale RWA tokenization has arrived, which means a fairer and more equitable global economic competitive environment." According to data from DefiLlama, the current TVL of the RWA track is $6.57 billion, which is more than 8 times lower than the TVL of the LSD track at $55.51 billion. If the RWA track is indeed worth trillions of dollars, there is still significant growth potential based on TVL. Tether currently holds a very important strategic position as well as a significant capital size in both the blockchain and traditional financial sectors. According to Tether's Q3 financial report, the group's net profit for the third quarter of 2024 is 2.50 billion USD, with an annual profit of 7.70 billion USD, and a stablecoin circulation exceeding 120 billion USD. In terms of reserves, Tether ranks among the top 18 holders of U.S. Treasury securities globally, holding over 105 billion USD in cash and cash equivalents, with direct and indirect exposure to U.S. Treasury securities reaching as high as 102.50 billion USD. If Tether serves as a bridge between traditional finance and the crypto world, it will have greater influence in this area and truly promote the prosperity of RWA (Real-World Assets). Although Tether's Hadron aims to push for asset tokenization in the RWA sector, it also includes support for the Bitcoin ecosystem. The modular multi-chain options in Hadron include Bitcoin L2, and on November 15, Paolo Ardoino specifically posted: "Among the various blockchain support options, Hadron has integrated the Bitcoin sidechain Liquid, as we received positive feedback from current test users (government and institutions) regarding Liquid, especially its support for crypto transactions." Although the Bitcoin sidechain Liquid may not be closely related to the current Bitcoin ecosystem, when asked on April 14 why Tether does not support the Bitcoin ecosystem but instead builds tokenization technology for a "garbage chain," Paolo Ardoino responded: "Liquid and RGB are about to receive support, and the team building the tokenization platform is indeed working to make it available on RGB as well."

Tether's newly launched asset tokenization platform Hadron opens a growth window for Real World Assets (RWA).