The landmark acquisition of a working oil and gas facility in Latin America worth $75 million was completed using stablecoins and tokenized debt and equity through real-world asset specialist Global Settlement’s platform, the firm told CoinDesk.
The purchase — orchestrated for Feniix Energy, a company that focuses on buying and operating energy assets in the region — marks the first time a fully tokenized capital stack has been used to acquire operational real estate tied to commodity production, Global Settlement said.
The transaction was finalized last week, said Kyle Sonlin, founder of Global Settlement. Further details cannot be disclosed due to regulatory requirements, he said.
Institutions are increasingly looking at tokenization as the next frontier in capital markets, using blockchain technology for moving real-world assets (RWA) assets like bonds, funds and other securities. It promises simpler cross-border transactions, faster settlements and new liquidity channels. The tokenized RWA market could grow to trillions of dollars over the next few years. Projections range from $2 trillion by McKinsey to $18 billion by BCG and Ripple.
“This deal fundamentally transforms the financial landscape of energy infrastructure,” Alejandro Uribe, a director at Feniix, said in a statement. “By integrating blockchain technology, we achieve unprecedented efficiency, security, and transparency.
Read more: RWA Tokenization Is Going to Trillions Much Faster Than You Think
Global Settlement’s GSX Protocol coordinated stablecoin flows between parties across Latin America, sourced vendors and supported technical infrastructure for the deal.
The process showcased that tokenization and stablecoins could reduce cross-border settlement across Latin American countries to minutes from what is typically several days through the traditional banking system, Sonlin said in an interview with CoinDesk.
Tokenization can also unlock more ways to raise funds for commodity-related investment across in emerging markets while bypassing traditional capital markets.
“I believe commodity tokenization is a key growth opportunity for emerging markets that don’t have the existing access to traditional financial services,” Sonlin said. “Debt markets and even equity capital are hard to come by for refineries, mines and other natural resource products, despite the fact that a huge portion of GDP comes from these exports.”
For Global Settlement, which operates a layer-1 network focusing on real-world asset transactions across multiple blockchains, the deal was an opportunity to test its capabilities and replicate in future deals, Sonlin said.
“A key goal in building [the protocol] was to assist in quantifying the benefits of tokenization to issuers and family offices,” Sonlin said. “We are looking to expand and do more of these M&A [merger and acquisition] transactions.”