Tokenized funds will take stablecoins even further (TWIF 9/19)

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September is the month that the fintech and crypto worlds launch everything they've been building for the year.

This week's launch news was dominated by Tether entering the US stablecoin race with its USA₮ token and entity, which will be led by the White House's Bo Hines. (Covered by Chuk yesterday.) Not to be outdone, Google announced an AI agent payment protocol. Crossmint partnered with MoneyGram to enable stables for 50M+ users. Santander is getting into crypto trading in Germany. AmEx rolled out a travel app....

It's busy here.

But the most interesting group of product launch announcements this week came from the London Stock Exchange Group, Robinhood, and WisdomTree, each of which announced their own synthetic and tokenized fund offerings.

Stablecoins are the product primitive that will modernize digital payments. People focus on speed and cost, but it's really the programmability of stables that will open up the most interesting new use cases (micropayments, smart escrow, self-collateralized lending, etc.)

But stablecoins are paving the way for something arguably much larger: tokenized funds and assets. This is what companies like WisdomTree and VanEck (and Nasdaq) have been focused on building. (And it just so happens that RWA Summit was this week in NYC.)

At first glance, tokenized funds don't seem revolutionary: What added utility does a synthetic version of an ETF have vs. a conventional one? But the possibilities are endless: creating much more flexible multi-asset funds (a single token representing a claim on a tranche of equity + debt + intangibles like art). Converting stores of value like investment assets into methods of payment. Collateralizing loan obligations with exotic assets. Generating easier liquidity in tradtionally illiquid markets... the list goes on.

Stablecoins themselves are, technically speaking, a slice of the RWA market: the fiat slice.

But if the size of the stablecoin market will be denominated in trillions, the size of the market for tokenized funds will be an order of magnitude larger.

And stablecoins will unlock it.

Please enjoy another week of fintech and banking news below.

Have feedback for us? Let us know. Find me at @nikmilanovic, @twifintech, and @ndm

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Betterment partnered with First Citizens Wealth to launch a digital 401(k) solution for small-and-mid-size business clients, serving as recordkeeper and plan administrator while First Citizens handled consulting and investment oversight.

London Stock Exchange Group launched a blockchain-platform called Digital Markets Infrastructure for private funds, powered by Microsoft, to issue, settle, and service tokenized assets from issuance through post-trade settlement.

American Express rolled out “Amex Passport” and a new travel app that let cardholders collect digital stamps (non-fungible/blockchain-based) as keepsakes of international trips while integrating booking, trip management, and travel-lounge features.

Santander’s digital bank Openbank enabled crypto trading in Germany, letting customers buy, sell, and hold major cryptocurrencies under the protections of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, with plans to expand services and functionality.

Early Warning Services is investigating launching its own stablecoin for retail bank customers, citing interest among its owners like Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and PNC.

Singapore’s police and regulatory bodies introduced rules to ban convicted scam mules from using banking services and mobile phone lines.

The Bank of England proposed caps on stablecoin holdings for individuals (around £10,000-£20,000) and businesses (£10 million) to limit deposit outflows from traditional banks prompting criticism from industry stakeholders. The UK is generally looking to follow the US' lead on regulating cryptocurrencies.

Tether unveiled a U.S.-regulated, dollar-backed stablecoin named USA₮ and appointed Bo Hines as CEO of Tether USA₮ to lead its launch under the GENIUS Act.

Gusto introduced Gusto Money, a suite of financial tools that integrated invoicing, bill pay, payroll advances, and cash flow management into their payroll platform for small businesses.

Google announced the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), an open standard that required cryptographically signed mandates so AI agents could securely authorize and execute payments across merchants and institutions.

Robinhood launched a publicly traded venture capital fund, Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI), to allow retail investors to access private company investments.

Payhawk released four enterprise-ready AI agents (Financial Controller, Procurement, Travel, Payments) that operate under existing finance workflows, approvals, policies, and audit trails to automate routine tasks.

MoneyGram launched a stablecoin-based cross-border finance solution in Colombia with Crossmint that let app users hold USD stablecoin balances (USDC), receive funds instantly, and cash out or spend.

Octaura launched a multi-protocol electronic trading platform for Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs).

PayPal introduced personalized payment links and integrated cryptocurrency support into its peer‑to‑peer platform, enabling users to send funds via text, email, or messaging apps across borders and wallets.

Cross River launched its Advanced Authorization model, allowing fintech partners to implement custom transaction logic and rules.

WisdomTree launched the WisdomTree Private Credit and Alternative Income Digital Fund (token ticker: CRDT), offering tokenized exposure to private credit via Ethereum and Stellar blockchains.

 Unwind at Money20/20 with TWIF & Oscilar:

Small businesses are turning to lending startups like Slope, Clearco, and Wayflyer to finance imported goods amid rising tariffs, resulting in increased borrowing costs.

Plaid agreed to pay JPMorgan for access to customer data after the bank accused aggregator firms of overloading its systems with unnecessary requests.

Ripple committed $25 million in Ripple USD stablecoin to support U.S. small businesses and veterans. Starling Bank's SaaS arm, Engine, will invest $50 million to expand into North America and appointed Jody Bhagat to lead the initiative.

Stocktwits and Polymarket joined forces to launch new earnings prediction markets, combining Polymarket’s prediction infrastructure with Stocktwits’ social finance platform.

Rain and Lithic forged a strategic partnership to accelerate the global growth of stablecoin-powered payments, enabling fintechs and enterprises to launch customizable, stablecoin-powered card programs at scale.