ORQO Group launched on Tuesday as a new institutional asset manager with $370 million in assets under management. The firm is based in Abu Dhabi and plans to build a yield platform for RLUSD, Ripple’s stablecoin.
ORQO brings together four firms from traditional and digital finance to combine private credit, tokenisation and DeFi.
New structure and licences
It is already licensed in Poland and Malta and is seeking approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market to expand in the Middle East.
The aim is to let institutional holders earn returns on stablecoin deposits by linking on-chain capital to off-chain assets.
ORQO consolidates Mount TFI, Monterra Capital, Nextrope and Soil. Mount TFI is a private debt specialist and a licensed fund manager in Poland. Monterra Capital is a multi-strategy digital hedge fund in Malta.
Nextrope is a blockchain engineering studio, and Soil is a DeFi protocol designed to comply with MiCA, the EU crypto rules. The group says these pieces give it both traditional asset experience and on-chain infrastructure.
The company already holds licences in Poland and Malta. It is now seeking approval from the regulator at Abu Dhabi Global Market. ORQO sees the Middle East as a growth region for regulated digital assets.
The firm will need that approval to expand services and take on regional institutional clients.
A push into tokenised assets
ORQO’s plan is part of a wider move to put real-world assets on blockchains. The firm wants to use tokenised private credit, real estate and other assets to back returns. Data cited by the group shows the RWA market is worth nearly $30 billion today.
That figure is small compared with traditional sectors like the $2 trillion private credit market. But the tokenised market could grow a lot, with a projection of $18 trillion by 2033 in a report from Ripple and BCG.
ORQO hopes to bridge on-chain liquidity and off-chain yields. Soil, its yield platform, is central to that plan. Soil aims to take capital supplied in stablecoins and deploy it into tokenised assets.
That should, in theory, let RLUSD holders earn a return that comes from private credit deals, property and hedge fund strategies.
The RLUSD focus
The group says it will open credit pools for RLUSD holders soon. The pools will target institutional treasuries, protocol reserves and other large holders.
Investors who place RLUSD into these pools would earn a yield tied to the performance of tokenised assets. ORQO frames this as a way for institutional dollars to stay on-chain while generating returns from real-world deals.
ORQO CEO Nicholas Motz said the firm has the pieces it needs. He said the group combines off-chain asset management with on-chain tools. Motz called it an opportunity to become a global on-chain asset manager.
Market context and risks
Moving private credit and other finance onto blockchains is still early work. Tokenisation requires careful legal, regulatory and technical steps. ORQO will have to prove that tokenised assets can deliver a consistent yield and that investors’ rights are protected.
The firm also needs partners in custody, auditing and asset servicing to make the model work at scale.
The RWA market shows rapid growth, but it remains a small slice of global finance. The projections cited by ORQO suggest big upside. Yet investors will watch execution closely.
Institutional treasuries and protocol reserves tend to seek stable, auditable returns. ORQO will need to demonstrate both yield and safety to win large mandates.
What to watch next?
Regulatory approval at Abu Dhabi Global Market is a key near-term step. The launch of RLUSD credit pools will be another test.
ORQO will also need to show how Soil manages risk and how the tokenised assets are structured and reported. Partnerships with custodians, auditors and distribution channels will matter.
Also Read: Ripple and SBI Group Plans To Bring RLUSD Stablecoin To Japan