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Tokenized Treasury funds have become the fastest-growing asset class in crypto, with the market expanding from $100 million in January 2023 to approximately $7.5 billion by mid-2025 and continuing to surge through 2026, cementing their status as the on-chain equivalent of money market funds.
Led by institutional giants like BlackRock's BUIDL and Franklin Templeton's BENJI alongside DeFi-native players like Ondo Finance, these products offer investors predictable 4% to 5.25% APY backed by U.S. Treasury bills, with the added benefits of 24/7 settlement, fractional ownership, and full DeFi composability.
This guide ranks the top 10 tokenized Treasury funds in 2026 by AUM, yield, accessibility, and DeFi integration, helping investors find the right product for their risk profile, minimum investment, and chain preference.
Key Takeaways
- BlackRock BUIDL holds 40% of the tokenized Treasury market at $2.9B+ AUM.
- Net yields across top funds range from 4% to 5.25% APY in 2026.
- Franklin Templeton BENJI offers the lowest management fee in the category at 0.15%.
Ranked by AUM, yield, accessibility, and DeFi integration depth
BlackRock / Securitize. 7 chains. ~4% to 4.5% APY.
Circle. Tax-efficient yield accumulation.
Hashnote. Notable share of top-6 controlled market.
Franklin Templeton. Lowest fee, registered fund.
WisdomTree. TradFi-native investors.
Superstate. Protocol treasury focused.
Ondo Finance. Highest net yield, non-U.S. retail access.
Ondo Finance. Institutional DeFi, majority in BUIDL.
Backed Finance. ETF-backed tokenized exposure.
Ondo Finance. Diversified cash equivalents, 2026 launch.
What Is a Tokenized Treasury Fund?
A tokenized Treasury fund is a blockchain-based token that represents ownership in a fund holding U.S. Treasury bills, notes, or repurchase agreements. Investors deposit stablecoins such as USDC or USDT, receive tokenized fund shares in return, and earn government-backed yield automatically via smart contract — no brokerage account, no settlement delays, no business-hours restrictions.
The structural advantage over holding idle stablecoins is significant. As covered in our Q1 2026 Stablecoin Report, standard stablecoins yield near zero while tokenized Treasuries deliver 4% to 5.25% APY on the same dollar-denominated capital. That gap has driven billions in inflows from DAO treasuries, DeFi protocols, and institutional investors over the past 18 months.
Before evaluating individual products, it is worth understanding the two structural approaches to yield distribution that divide the market:
1. Rebasing tokens...
...such as BUIDL and BENJI maintain a stable $1.00 price and distribute yield by minting new tokens at regular intervals — typically monthly or daily. This model simplifies DeFi collateral pricing and protocol accounting since smart contracts can assume a constant $1.00 value without complex net asset value tracking. The tradeoff is that each yield distribution is likely a taxable income event.
2. Yield-bearing tokens...
...such as Ondo USDY and Circle USYC keep token supply constant while the price appreciates daily as yield accrues. This approach produces a single capital gain event on sale rather than multiple taxable income events throughout the holding period, making it more tax-efficient for long-term holders. The tradeoff is that DeFi integrations require more sophisticated NAV-aware pricing oracles.
Understanding which model fits your use case is the most important decision before choosing a product. For DAO treasuries and DeFi protocol reserves that need stable $1.00 collateral, rebasing funds win. For individual investors focused on tax efficiency and long-term yield accumulation, yield-bearing tokens have the edge.
The Institutional Heavyweights: BUIDL and Circle USYC Lead by AUM
1. BlackRock BUIDL (BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund)
BlackRock's BUIDL is the undisputed leader of the tokenized Treasury market in 2026. With over $2.9 billion in AUM and approximately 40% market share, it is the single largest tokenized real-world asset fund globally — a tenfold increase from its initial $200 million at launch less than two years ago.
BUIDL is a rebasing fund that maintains a stable $1.00 price, distributing yield as newly minted tokens. The underlying strategy invests in short-term U.S. Treasury bills and repurchase agreements, applying the same active management techniques used by large money market funds: maturity laddering to capture different points on the yield curve, strategic participation in weekly Treasury auctions, and dynamic allocation between overnight and term repos to minimise cash drag.
Chains: 7 blockchains including Ethereum (holding 93% of supply), Polygon, Solana, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Aptos, and Optimism.
Management fee: 0.2% to 0.5% depending on share class.
Net yield: approximately 4% to 4.5% APY.
Access: qualified purchasers only; issued via Securitize with full KYC and AML requirements; institutional minimum investment.
DeFi integration: used as collateral on Drift Institutional for perpetual futures margin; integrated into several lending protocols; Sky (formerly MakerDAO) holds over $2 billion in RWA collateral, with BUIDL among the primary assets. The stable $1.00 price makes BUIDL ideal for DeFi use cases where pricing oracles need a fixed reference value.
Best for: institutional treasury management, DAO reserves, DeFi protocol collateral requiring a stable $1.00 price. A $10 million DAO vault in BUIDL yields approximately $450,000 annually at 4.5%, significantly outperforming idle stablecoin holdings.
Tax note: monthly yield distributions are likely taxable income events in the U.S., producing approximately 12 taxable events per year.
2. Circle USYC (US Yield Coin)
Circle USYC is a yield-bearing token backed by short-duration U.S. Treasuries and money market instruments. Unlike BUIDL's rebasing model, USYC's price appreciates daily as yield accrues, making it a more tax-efficient structure for holders who want to accumulate yield without triggering regular income recognition.
USYC occupies a significant institutional position in the top six funds that collectively control 88% of the tokenized Treasury market. Circle's established infrastructure in regulated digital finance, including its work issuing USDC, gives USYC the compliance and custody credibility that institutional counterparties require.
DeFi integration: used as collateral in lending and structured products; increasingly integrated into DeFi protocols that support yield-bearing token collateral with NAV-aware pricing.
Best for: institutional investors who prefer the price-accrual yield model for accounting and tax simplicity; DeFi protocol treasuries comfortable with NAV-tracking collateral.
3. Hashnote USYC
Hashnote USYC is another regulated yield-bearing Treasury token that holds a notable institutional position within the top six funds controlling the majority of the market. Hashnote's regulated structure with institutional-grade custody backing provides a credible alternative for institutional participants who want diversification beyond BUIDL's rebasing model or Circle's ecosystem.
Best for: institutional participants seeking a regulated yield-bearing alternative to BUIDL with a price-accrual structure.
Retail Accessibility Shines With Franklin Templeton BENJI
4. Franklin Templeton BENJI (Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund)
Franklin Templeton's BENJI is the most established tokenized Treasury fund after BUIDL, having launched before its BlackRock rival. With approximately $700 to $750 million in AUM, a management fee of just 0.15% (the lowest in the category), and registration as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, BENJI occupies a distinctive position: it is the most traditionally regulated and lowest-cost option in the top tier.
Like BUIDL, BENJI is a rebasing token maintaining a $1.00 peg, distributing yield as newly minted tokens. Franklin Templeton's $1.6 trillion global scale enables institutional pricing on underlying Treasury purchases and repo agreements, allowing the fund to access slightly better rates than smaller managers — which is part of how it sustains competitive net yields at a lower fee.
Chains: Stellar (native chain), Polygon, Ethereum.
Management fee: approximately 0.15%.
Net yield: competitive 4% to 4.5% APY range.
Access: available to accredited investors in the U.S. and non-U.S. retail investors in many jurisdictions; lower barrier to entry than BUIDL's institutional-only access.
DeFi composability: designed for hybrid models including collateralised lending and DAO treasury deployment. The stable $1.00 structure integrates cleanly with most DeFi protocols, and BENJI's regulatory status as a registered fund gives compliance-conscious institutions comfort that no other product in this list fully matches.
Best for: DAO treasury managers, protocol reserve operators, and retail-accessible investors who want institutional-quality execution at the lowest available fee. Also the strongest choice for investors who prioritise regulatory clarity above all else.
Tax note: monthly rebases generate approximately 12 taxable income events per year in the U.S., consistent with BUIDL's treatment.
5. WisdomTree Government Money Market Digital Fund
WisdomTree brings its established ETF infrastructure to tokenized Treasuries, applying decades of regulatory relationships and product management experience to a blockchain-native fund. The fund holds short-duration U.S. government money market instruments and distributes yield to token holders via its tokenized structure.
WisdomTree's positioning appeals to traditional investors already familiar with its ETF products who want a tokenized extension of known infrastructure with the backing of a recognised brand in regulated financial products.
Access: accredited investors; compliance layer mirrors WisdomTree's established ETF regulatory framework.
Best for: traditional investors entering tokenized Treasuries who want a familiar institutional name; wealth managers seeking regulated on-chain alternatives to standard money market funds.
6. Superstate USTB
Superstate USTB is a tokenized Treasury product built specifically for DeFi-native investors who want transparent, auditable, on-chain exposure to U.S. Treasuries. Superstate's emphasis on on-chain transparency and auditability distinguishes it from the more traditionally structured funds in this list.
USTB is Ethereum-based and designed for DeFi protocol integration, making it a natural fit for protocol treasury managers who want Treasury yield with maximum composability rather than the institutional wrapper that products like BUIDL require.
Best for: DeFi protocol treasuries and sophisticated on-chain investors who prioritise transparency and auditability over brand-name institutional backing.
Highest-Yielding Options: Ondo Finance Takes the Lead
7. Ondo USDY (Ondo U.S. Dollar Yield Token)
Ondo USDY is the highest-yielding major tokenized Treasury product in 2026 and the clear leader for non-U.S. retail investors seeking maximum on-chain Treasury return. With approximately $650 million in AUM, approximately 4.8% APY, and zero explicit management fee, USDY has built a strong position by prioritising yield accessibility over institutional wrapping.
USDY is a yield-bearing token: the price appreciates daily via a dynamic rate oracle that applies exponential compounding based on underlying Treasury and bank deposit yields. The supply remains constant while token price increases, meaning the yield is embedded in price appreciation rather than token distributions. This produces a single capital gain event on sale rather than regular taxable income, making it meaningfully more tax-efficient for long-term holders than BUIDL or BENJI.
The implicit fee structure is worth understanding. Rather than charging an explicit management fee, Ondo operates a Regulation S compliance requirement that creates a minting delay of approximately 45 days for new deposits. During this period, deposited capital generates yield for Ondo's account before tokens are issued. For a $100,000 deposit over a 45-day delay at 4.6% gross yield, Ondo captures approximately $568, equivalent to a 0.57% annual fee. Net yield for investors runs approximately 4.8% APY.
Chains: Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, Aptos, and others — the widest multi-chain availability of any major tokenized Treasury product.
DeFi integration: used as collateral on Drift Institutional for perpetual futures; integrated into Kamino Finance and multiple Solana DeFi protocols. This depth of integration makes USDY the most composable high-yield option available. For a deeper look at how DeFi protocols integrate yield-bearing tokens as collateral, see our guide on Best Liquidity Pools for Stablecoin Pairs in 2026.
Access: non-U.S. retail investors and qualified purchasers; lower barriers than BUIDL or OUSG.
Best for: non-U.S. retail investors seeking maximum yield on Treasury exposure, DeFi participants using yield-bearing Treasury tokens as collateral, and long-term holders who want tax-efficient yield accumulation.
8. Ondo OUSG (Ondo Short-Term U.S. Government Bond Fund)
OUSG is Ondo's institutional-tier tokenized fund, with over $500 million in AUM. The majority of OUSG's assets are invested in BlackRock's BUIDL, giving it indirect exposure to BUIDL's underlying Treasury strategy with a slightly different access structure.
Minimum investment: $5,000 on Ethereum.
Yield: competitive with BUIDL given its underlying allocation to the same assets.
DeFi composability: integrates with lending protocols for collateralised use cases; structured for institutional DeFi rather than retail access.
Best for: DeFi-native institutional participants who want structured access to short-term Treasuries via a regulated wrapper with a lower minimum than direct BUIDL access requires.
9. Backed Finance bIBIT / bC3M
Backed Finance offers a different approach to tokenized Treasury exposure: rather than creating a bespoke fund, Backed tokenises existing ETFs. bIBIT represents tokenized exposure to iShares Core U.S. Treasury Bond ETF (BlackRock's underlying), while bC3M offers exposure to short-term European sovereign bonds.
This ETF-wrapper approach gives investors a familiar underlying product with complete transparency on what the token represents. The regulatory structure is Swiss-domiciled, making these products available to non-U.S. investors without U.S. securities law constraints.
Structure: yield-bearing token with price appreciation.
Access: non-U.S. investors; Swiss regulatory wrapper; no U.S. accredited investor requirement.
Best for: non-U.S. investors who want ETF-backed tokenized Treasury exposure with transparent underlying assets and European regulatory familiarity.
10. Ondo SWEEP (State Street and Galaxy partnership — launching 2026)
SWEEP represents the next generation of institutional tokenized funds, launched in 2026 through a partnership between Ondo Finance, State Street, and Galaxy Asset Management, with $200 million in seed capital from the institutional partners. Rather than focusing purely on short-term T-bills, SWEEP is designed to expand into diversified cash equivalent asset classes, offering institutional investors a broader yield profile than the standard Treasury-only products.
The State Street and Galaxy backing provides institutional credibility that anchors SWEEP firmly in the top tier despite being a 2026 launch. For institutional investors who want diversified tokenized cash equivalents from names that compliance departments already recognise, SWEEP fills a gap that no other product on this list currently addresses.
Best for: institutional investors seeking diversified tokenized cash equivalents with major traditional finance backing and a broader asset class mandate than Treasury-only products.
Comparison Table: Top 10 Tokenized Treasury Funds in 2026
| Fund | Issuer | AUM | Net Yield | Structure | Min. Investment | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUIDL | BlackRock / Securitize | $2.9B+ | ~4% to 4.5% | Rebasing ($1.00) | Institutional | DAO reserves, DeFi collateral |
| USYC | Circle | Institutional | ~4% to 5% | Yield-bearing | Institutional | Tax-efficient Treasury exposure |
| USYC | Hashnote | Notable | ~4%+ | Yield-bearing | Institutional | Regulated institutional alternative |
| BENJI | Franklin Templeton | $700M to $750M | ~4% to 4.5% | Rebasing ($1.00) | Lower than BUIDL | Retail-accessible, DAO reserves |
| Govt MMF | WisdomTree | Growing | ~4%+ | Money market | Accredited | TradFi-native investors |
| USTB | Superstate | Notable | ~4%+ | Yield-bearing | DeFi-accessible | DeFi protocol treasuries |
| USDY | Ondo Finance | $650M+ | ~4.8% | Yield-bearing | Retail (non-U.S.) | Maximum yield, DeFi collateral |
| OUSG | Ondo Finance | $500M+ | ~4% to 4.5% | Rebasing | $5,000 (ETH) | Institutional DeFi |
| bIBIT / bC3M | Backed Finance | Growing | ~4%+ | Yield-bearing | Non-U.S. retail | ETF-backed exposure |
| SWEEP | Ondo / State Street / Galaxy | $200M seed | TBD | Institutional | Institutional | Diversified cash equivalents |
2026 Trends Shaping Tokenized Treasury Funds
1. Market growth acceleration.
The tokenized Treasury market reached $5.8 billion to $7.5 billion in 2025 and continues expanding in 2026, driven by institutional inflows and DeFi protocol integrations. As detailed in our April 2026 Stablecoin Report, the RWA tokenization market broadly crossed $12 billion in March 2026, with Treasuries leading every other asset class.
2. Multi-chain expansion.
BUIDL is now active on 7 chains; USDY spans Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, and Aptos. Treasury liquidity is no longer Ethereum-only, and the growth of Solana as a stablecoin settlement layer — which we covered in depth in our Stablecoin Payment Rails 2026 guide — is directly driving USDY adoption on that network.
3. DeFi composability as a key differentiator.
Funds used as perpetual futures collateral on Drift, in lending protocols on Kamino and Aave, and in DAO governance vaults are capturing the most inflows. The ability to earn Treasury yield while simultaneously using the position as collateral for DeFi activity is the 2026 use case that no traditional money market fund can replicate.
4. Regulatory tailwinds.
The GENIUS Act and broader U.S. stablecoin regulatory clarity are extending institutional confidence into Treasury tokens. The CLARITY Act stablecoin yield compromise reached in May 2026 draws a clear line between passive bank-like yield (restricted) and activity-based rewards (permitted), which tokenized Treasury funds navigate cleanly given their underlying government security backing.
5. Market concentration.
Six funds control 88% of all tokenized U.S. Treasuries. BUIDL's 40% share signals winner-take-most dynamics at the institutional tier. Differentiation increasingly comes from chain availability, DeFi integration depth, and yield mechanism rather than underlying asset selection.
6. Interoperability gap.
A BUIDL token on Ethereum and a BENJI token on Stellar cannot easily interact or serve as interchangeable collateral. Industry efforts toward standardised token formats and cross-platform settlement are underway but have not yet produced a unified framework. This remains the primary structural limitation on the sector's next growth phase.
7. DAO treasury shift.
DAOs are increasingly replacing native token staking with Treasury tokens for capital preservation. For any treasury manager considering this shift, our guide on stablecoin risks enterprises need to understand in 2026 provides the risk framework to evaluate tokenized Treasury allocation alongside reserve and redemption considerations.
Conclusion
Tokenized Treasury funds have crossed from crypto experiment to institutional infrastructure in 2026, with more than $7 billion in assets proving that blockchain-based government debt products deliver real economic value to both institutional and retail investors.
BlackRock BUIDL leads by AUM and DeFi integration depth, Franklin Templeton BENJI wins on fee efficiency and regulatory clarity, and Ondo USDY tops the yield leaderboard for non-U.S. retail investors seeking maximum return with tax-efficient structure.
The right choice depends on your investor category, preferred chain, yield mechanism, and DeFi use case — but across all ten products, the core value proposition is the same: U.S. Treasury yield, on-chain, 24/7, with no brokerage account required.
Read Next
- Top 10 Stablecoin Compliance Tools in 2026
- Solana's New Payments.org Just Changed Stablecoin Payments in 2026
- The Machines Are Spending Stablecoins. Here's Where the Money Is Going.
FAQs:
What is a tokenized Treasury fund?
A tokenized Treasury fund is a blockchain-based token that represents ownership in a fund holding U.S. Treasury bills, notes, or repurchase agreements, allowing investors to earn government-backed yield of 4% to 5.25% APY directly on-chain by depositing stablecoins without requiring a traditional brokerage account.
What is the difference between a rebasing tokenized Treasury fund and a yield-bearing one?
The difference between a rebasing tokenized Treasury fund and a yield-bearing one is that a rebasing fund like BUIDL or BENJI maintains a stable $1.00 price and distributes yield by minting new tokens at regular intervals, while a yield-bearing fund like Ondo USDY keeps the token supply constant and lets the price appreciate daily as yield accrues, resulting in a single taxable event on sale rather than multiple taxable income events throughout the holding period.
What is the largest tokenized Treasury fund in 2026?
The largest tokenized Treasury fund in 2026 is BlackRock's BUIDL, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, which holds over $2.9 billion in assets under management and commands approximately 40% of the total tokenized Treasury market, making it the single largest tokenized real-world asset fund in the world.
What is the difference between BUIDL and BENJI as tokenized Treasury funds?
The difference between BUIDL and BENJI is that BUIDL is issued by BlackRock via Securitize with a management fee of 0.2% to 0.5% and is restricted to qualified purchasers with institutional minimums, while BENJI is issued by Franklin Templeton with the lowest management fee in the category at 0.15%, is available to a wider range of investors including non-U.S. retail participants, and operates as a registered investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
What is the highest-yielding tokenized Treasury fund in 2026?
The highest-yielding tokenized Treasury fund in 2026 is Ondo Finance's USDY, which delivers approximately 4.8% APY through a yield-bearing token model where the price appreciates daily, with no explicit management fee, and is accessible to non-U.S. retail investors without the institutional minimums required by BUIDL or OUSG.
Disclaimer:
This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice; no material herein should be interpreted as a recommendation, endorsement, or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instrument, and readers should conduct their own independent research or consult a qualified professional.
