Unlock Yield: Securitize and Mantle Launch Institutional Crypto Fund
Institutional investors are increasingly exploring opportunities within the digital asset space, particularly strategies that can generate yield. Addressing this demand, Securitize, a leader in tokenization, has partnered with Mantle, a decentralized finance protocol, to introduce a new institutional crypto fund.
Securitize Mantle Collaboration Targets Institutions
This collaboration brings together Securitize’s expertise in regulated digital asset securities with Mantle’s capabilities in decentralized finance. The partnership aims to provide institutional investors with structured access to the crypto market, focusing on yield-generating strategies that might otherwise be complex to navigate directly.
Introducing the Mantle Index Four (MI4) Fund
The core offering from this partnership is the Mantle Index Four (MI4) Fund. This fund is designed to function somewhat like a traditional index fund but focused on digital assets. It offers exposure to a basket of major cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, aiming to provide diversified access and generate returns for institutions.
Key assets included in the MI4 Fund:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ether (ETH)
- Solana (SOL)
- US dollar-tracking stablecoins
- Liquid staking tokens
Timothy Chen, Mantle’s global head of strategy, stated the fund aspires to become the ‘de facto SPX or S&P 500 of crypto’, indicating a goal to represent a broad market benchmark for institutional crypto exposure.
Earning Crypto Yield Through Diversification
A primary objective of the MI4 Fund is to generate crypto yield for investors. This is achieved through a combination of exposure to core digital assets and the integration of yield-bearing mechanisms available within the crypto ecosystem. The fund’s structure allows institutions to gain exposure to potential growth from major cryptocurrencies while also capturing yield opportunities.
Leveraging Liquid Staking for Enhanced Returns
A notable feature of the MI4 Fund is its integration of liquid staking tokens. These tokens represent staked cryptocurrencies (like Ether) but remain liquid, allowing them to be used in other DeFi protocols while still earning staking rewards. The fund includes tokens such as Mantle’s mETH, Bybit’s bbSOL, and Ethena’s USDe. Mantle’s mETH, for instance, offered an approximate 3.78% APR as of April 24, according to DefiLlama data. This strategy aims to enhance the overall yield potential of the fund’s holdings.
Connecting with RWA Tokenization Trends
Securitize is a significant player in the RWA tokenization space, focusing on tokenizing real-world assets for institutional clients. Data from RWA.xyz shows Securitize holding approximately 71% of the market share among institutional tokenization platforms as of April 24. Their largest affiliated fund, the BlackRock Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUILD), manages over $2.5 billion in assets. This new fund with Mantle aligns with Securitize’s broader mission to bridge traditional finance with digital assets through tokenization, providing institutions with compliant and structured ways to access crypto yield and exposure.
Why This Matters for Institutions
The launch of the MI4 fund by Securitize Mantle is a direct response to growing institutional interest in digital assets, particularly in finding ways to generate returns in a volatile market. It offers a potentially more familiar and compliant structure (via a fund) for institutions to access crypto exposure and yield compared to direct participation in decentralized protocols. This move reflects the ongoing trend of maturation in the digital asset market as infrastructure develops to meet the needs of larger, more risk-averse investors.
Summary
Securitize and Mantle have launched the Mantle Index Four (MI4) Fund, an institutional crypto fund designed to offer yield on a diversified basket of digital assets including Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, stablecoins, and liquid staking tokens. The fund leverages Mantle’s DeFi capabilities and Securitize’s leadership in RWA tokenization to provide institutional investors with structured access to crypto yield. This Securitize Mantle initiative highlights the increasing demand from institutions for regulated and accessible ways to participate in the digital asset market.
