Arbitrum Backs Tokenized Bonds with Major Treasury Allocation
Arbitrum’s DAO is making a bold push into tokenized finance, committing $11.6 million worth of ARB to blockchain-based U.S. Treasurys in a move that signals growing institutional ambitions.
The initiative—part of its STEP program—is aimed at giving the network exposure to low-risk, yield-generating real-world assets.
After reviewing over 50 applicants, the DAO has selected three seasoned asset managers: Franklin Templeton, Spiko, and WisdomTree. Each will receive a slice of the 35 million ARB allocation, with their onchain Treasury products now set to anchor Arbitrum’s diversified treasury.
The voting outcome left little doubt—nearly 89% supported the decision. The breakdown gives 35% each to Franklin and Spiko, while WisdomTree receives the remaining 30%. Selection criteria centered on factors like fees, risk exposure, and community fit, overseen by a STEP committee of DAO-elected members.
This marks another step in Arbitrum’s strategy to integrate traditional financial players into its ecosystem. Since STEP launched six months ago, the program has generated over $650,000 in passive interest. Key figures behind the initiative say the involvement of legacy giants signals a breakthrough for DeFi’s institutional narrative.
While unselected applicants can reapply in future rounds, the latest allocation already cements Arbitrum’s growing role as a bridge between decentralized networks and traditional asset management.
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coindoo and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
