KAIO, a tokenization firm regulated by Abu Dhabi, announced on Monday that it has secured $8 million in a strategic funding round, backed by Tether and several other prominent crypto and institutional investors. This investment aims to support the development of infrastructure that enables the distribution of traditional funds on blockchain rails. The funding round brings KAIO's total funding to $19 million, with new investors including Systemic Ventures, and repeat investors such as Further Ventures, Laser Digital, and Brevan Howard Digital.
KAIO specializes in creating tokens for products from firms like BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane, making them accessible through blockchain-based systems. With this new investment, KAIO plans to expand its offerings to include credit, structured investments, and exchange-traded funds. The company also intends to launch an on-chain fund in collaboration with Mubadala Capital, an Emirati private equity firm with $385 billion in assets under management. By tokenizing institutional funds, KAIO aims to reduce the barriers to entry for investors, with minimum investment requirements starting at $100 for eligible users.
This is significantly lower than the typical thresholds for institutional funds. Tether's involvement in this funding round highlights the potential for stablecoin flows to be channeled into regulated investment products. As the most widely used stablecoin with a supply of $185 billion, USDT is often utilized for cross-border transactions, particularly in emerging markets.
KAIO seeks to leverage this liquidity to support the growth of regulated investment products. According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, "KAIO's unique position enables new pathways for capital formation and investment by bringing institutional-grade assets on-chain and making them more accessible, which helps expand participation in global financial markets." KAIO's platform prioritizes compliance, embedding it into its system and supporting regulated distribution frameworks in jurisdictions such as Abu Dhabi, the Cayman Islands, and Singapore. To date, the company has tokenized approximately $100 million in assets and processed over $500 million in transactions.