Tether, the crypto firm behind the third-largest cryptocurrency (USDT), said on Thursday it has launched its asset tokenization service after CEO Paolo Ardoino teased the project for months.

The platform, called Hadron, was designed to simplify the process of converting a wide range of real-world assets including bonds, commodities, stocks, other stablecoins and loyalty points into digital tokens on blockchain rails.

Tether's goal with the new platform is to unlock "alternative financing and capital markets opportunities for nation states and corporations," according to a blog post.

The service encompasses the full life-cycle of tokenization, including tools for risk management, know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) compliance and secondary market monitoring. The platform at the beginning supports Ethereum, Avalanche and Bitcoin scaling network Liquid by Blockstream, and "soon" will add the Telegram-adjacent TON network and other smart contract chains, a Tether spokesperson said in an email to CoinDesk.

"We believe 'Hadron by Tether' will significantly improve the financial industry," Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement. "Our goal is to create new opportunities for businesses and governments, while also making the digital asset space more accessible and transparent."

Tether's ambition to venture into asset tokenization, a red-hot trend at the intersection of crypto and traditional finance, has been well-documented as the company strives to diversify from its highly-profitable stablecoin business. The company issues the $126 billion dollar stablecoin USDT and the $600 million gold-backed token XAUT, and reported f $7.7 billion in group-wide net profits this year so far, in large part from the yield on its $80 billion stockpile of U.S. Treasuries. It has used the profits to invest in startups, bitcoin mining, energy production and AI.

Tokenization is potentially a multi-trillion industry, as global banks and digital asset companies race to bring traditional financial instruments onto blockchain rails pursuing more efficient, transparent and cheaper operation.

Ardoino first outlined plans for Tether's tokenization platform in April. The firm also invested $100 million in a Latin American agricultural firm that was a founder and partial owner of agricultural commodities tokenization startup Agrotoken.

UPDATE (Nov. 14 18:27 UTC): Added list of blockchains the platform supports, according to a Tether spokesperson.

Stablecoin Tether Tokenization Tokenized Assets Real World Assets

Krisztian Sandor

Krisztian Sandor recently graduated from NYU's business and economic reporter program as a Fulbright fellow and worked with Reuters and Forbes previously. Originally from Budapest, Hungary, he is now based in New York. He holds BTC and ETH.