🔥DAOs MEET WALL STREET: ARBITRUM JUST BOUGHT TREASURIES WITH CRYPTO
May 8, 2025 — Something extraordinary is happening in DeFi: Arbitrum DAO, one of Ethereum’s most active Layer 2 ecosystems, is officially getting into government bonds.
The DAO has just voted to allocate 35 million ARB (≈$11 million) to tokenized U.S. Treasury bills, partnering with three major issuers: Franklin Templeton, Spiko, and WisdomTree.
This move is part of STEP 2 (Stable Treasury Endowment Program) — a strategy to diversify Arbitrum’s holdings beyond volatile crypto assets. The goal? Build a base of low-risk, yield-generating instruments that bring stable income without risking DAO liquidity.
Here’s how the allocation looks:
— 35% to Franklin Templeton’s BENJI fund
— 35% to Spiko’s USTBL instrument
— 30% to WisdomTree’s blockchain-native T-bill product
This isn’t Arbitrum’s first foray into RWAs. In STEP 1, the DAO deployed over $30M into products like BlackRock’s BUIDL and Ondo’s USDY, generating about $700K in yield.
So why does this matter?
Because it marks a profound evolution in crypto governance. This isn’t a hype-driven yield farm. This is DeFi maturing into institutional-grade asset management.
Using tokenized Treasuries, Arbitrum maintains crypto-native custody and composability while accessing the same risk profile trusted by banks, funds, and governments. All without traditional middlemen.
It’s not just diversification. It’s strategy.
It’s DAOs acting like sovereign wealth funds.
But questions remain:
— Will these RWAs stay on-chain and transparent?
— What happens if U.S. regulations shift?
— And is this the beginning of DAOs becoming bondholders — or central banks?
To the #AMAGE community:
Are we witnessing the rise of a new financial species — where DAOs hold
