Real Finance, an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain focused on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, has entered into a strategic partnership with Anchorage Digital, the operator of the first federally chartered crypto bank in the United States and a qualified institutional custodian.
The collaboration aims to provide infrastructure across the full lifecycle of tokenized assets, including issuance, custody, settlement, servicing, and secondary market liquidity.
Under the agreement, Anchorage Digital will contribute regulated custody, treasury management, settlement services, and institutional-grade security infrastructure. Real Finance will provide tokenization infrastructure, asset lifecycle management tools, risk visibility capabilities, and programmable financial mechanisms designed for tokenized markets.
The partnership will focus on several areas of integration.
As part of the arrangement, Anchorage Digital will provide custody and treasury infrastructure for the Real Finance ecosystem and its native $ASSET token. The company will also serve as a custody provider for tokenized financial instruments issued on the Real Finance blockchain, supporting institutional participation as additional products are launched.
The two companies will also work together on institutional onboarding and business development efforts. Real Finance plans to drive demand for regulated custody services through its network of asset issuers, while Anchorage Digital will introduce institutional clients to tokenization solutions and blockchain infrastructure built on Real Finance.
Ivo Grigorov, CEO of Real Finance, said: “Real Finance and Anchorage Digital are collaboratively building the institutional infrastructure for the next generation of tokenized financial markets. Tokenization alone is not enough. Institutions need trusted, regulated layers that integrate custody, servicing, settlement, and lifecycle management. Together we are moving the industry from experimentation toward functional on-chain capital markets and delivering the unified experience institutions demand.”
Nathan McCauley, Co-Founder and CEO, Anchorage Digital, said: “RWAs are one of the clearest examples of how blockchain can modernize capital markets, but institutions need more than tokenization rails alone. They need regulated, secure infrastructure that can support custody, settlement, and lifecycle connectivity at scale. Our partnership with Real Finance brings together the core building blocks institutions need to move from isolated pilots to real onchain capital markets.”
The announcement comes as institutions continue exploring the use of tokenized real-world assets across financial markets. While tokenization activity has expanded in recent years, market infrastructure remains distributed across multiple providers covering issuance, custody, compliance, settlement, servicing, and liquidity functions.
According to the companies, this fragmentation has created operational complexity for institutions and slowed broader adoption of tokenized financial products.
Through the partnership, Real Finance and Anchorage Digital intend to offer a more integrated framework that combines blockchain infrastructure with regulated custody, treasury management, settlement capabilities, and tokenization services. The companies said the framework is designed to support a range of tokenized assets and financial products, including private credit, investment funds, real estate, structured products, and bank-integrated financial instruments.
