Tokenization is supposed to make markets faster and more accessible. But many onchain versions of real-world assets have fallen short of that promise, offering thin liquidity, slow settlement and prices that drift from reality, argues Yuki Yuminaga, co-founder and CEO of Tenbin Labs.
His New York-based startup wants to change that by building institutional-grade tokenized assets that closely track real-world prices, settle quickly and generate yield.
Tenbin has raised $7 million in seed funding led by Galaxy Ventures, the venture capital arm of Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital (GLXY), with backing from Wintermute Ventures, GSR, Variant, Archetype, FalconX and others.
“We don’t think tokenization is just about putting things onchain,” Yuminaga said in an interview with CoinDesk. “It’s about making those assets better than they were before — faster to settle, more liquid, and more usable.”
Rather than rely on custody-based wrappers, Tenbin uses CME futures contracts to anchor pricing and manage exposure. This allows the protocol to track real-world prices more closely, while also capturing yield from futures basis — the price difference between futures and spot markets. That yield is passed through to users, without requiring direct access to local banks or governments.
“We can capture all those yields and offer to the users without even touching the Brazilian bank,” Yuminaga said. “All of it is done through our proprietary CME hedging system.”
Tenbin’s design enables fast minting and redemptions, avoids fees under most conditions, and allows token holders to move freely across decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. The first assets the firm plans to introduce are gold and emerging market currencies like the Brazilian real and Mexican peso.
Its first product, a tokenized gold asset, is scheduled to launch in early this year with support from prime brokers including Hidden Road and StoneX. FX-denominated tokens are next, offering high-yield carry trade opportunities to onchain users, Yuminaga said.
With interest in alternatives to U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins growing, Tenbin is targeting what Yuminaga called the next batch of decentralized finance investors that are interested in “more profitable opportunities than just holding U.S. dollars.”
The project is betting that demand for more liquid, yield-bearing tokenized assets will rise as crypto users look beyond basic dollar exposure and begin seeking better access to global markets without the friction of traditional financial rails.
“If we can offer real pricing, instant liquidity and yield in one token,” Yuminaga said. “That’s where tokenization actually delivers.”
