Moody’s has assigned Aaa-mf assessments to tokenized money market funds issued by Fidelity International and BlackRock, giving both products one of the strongest possible signals on liquidity and capital preservation. For onchain yield products, that carries weight. It places tokenized cash-like funds closer to the standards long applied in traditional finance.
The agency said the Aaa-mf assessment indicates an extremely strong ability to maintain high liquidity and preserve capital, with the lowest level of risk. Moody’s also drew a distinction between an assessment and a formal rating: an assessment reflects a broader analytical view, while a rating is the published credit grade. Even so, the decision is notable because it extends mainstream credit analysis to tokenized fund structures.
Fidelity’s FILQ uses onchain registries and stablecoin subscriptions
Fidelity International’s FILQ fund launched on May 6. The product runs on Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum’s Desygnate tokenization platform, which supports onchain fund registries, smart contract-based settlement, and subscriptions and redemptions through stablecoins.
The fund also relies on infrastructure from several established providers. JPMorgan Chase supports custody and fund administration, Apex Group provides transfer agency services, and Chainlink publishes the fund’s net asset value and distribution data onchain. Emma Pecenicic, head of digital assets distribution at Fidelity International, said tokenized finance depends on tokenized liquidity, adding that if markets settle in real time, cash has to do the same.
BlackRock’s BUIDL adds another top-tier assessment
BlackRock’s BUIDL, introduced in March 2024, is one of the largest tokenized Treasury funds in the world. According to a post on X from Securitize, the fund’s transfer agent and tokenization platform, BUIDL received its Aaa-mf assignment yesterday, more than two years after launch.
Money market funds invest in highly liquid short-term debt instruments with maturities generally under one year, including Treasury bills, commercial paper, and certificates of deposit. Investors typically use them as a place to hold cash while still earning yield, which helps explain why the structure has translated well into tokenized form.
Tokenized U.S. government debt products top $15 billion
Tokenized U.S. government debt products — including Treasury bills, notes, bonds, and money market funds — have gained traction across both traditional financial institutions and crypto-native firms. Demand has centered on low-risk, yield-bearing instruments that can operate onchain.
Data from rwa.xyz shows the onchain tokenized Treasury sector now holds more than $15 billion in assets under management, up from $1 billion just two years ago. Against that backdrop, the Moody’s assessments for Fidelity International and BlackRock add another institutional marker to the growth of tokenized money market funds.