China’s Futian Investment Holding Issues World’s First Public RWA Bond on Ethereum

In a landmark move for both blockchain and traditional finance, China’s state-owned Futian Investment Holding has issued the world’s first public real-world asset (RWA) bond on the Ethereum blockchain—reflecting a significant, if selective, embrace of digital asset infrastructure by the Chinese financial sector.

On September 1, Futian Investment Holding, a Shenzhen-based state enterprise, announced the launch of its inaugural RWA bond offering, raising 500 million yuan through offshore bonds in Hong Kong.

Uniquely, these bonds are issued on Ethereum’s public blockchain, represent a traditional debt instrument, and come with a two-year term at a fixed interest rate of 2.62%.

The company claims this digital issuance enables investors to purchase Futian’s debt seamlessly, broadening global financing channels while leveraging Hong Kong’s progressive regulatory environment for digital assets.

The issuance is part of the firm’s bid to modernize its capital structure and showcase leadership in financial technology innovation.

This move is emblematic of China’s nuanced stance toward blockchain technology. While the country maintains a strict ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining—primarily due to concerns about financial system instability and high energy demand—it still supports targeted blockchain applications, especially those that fit within established regulatory parameters.

By opting to tokenize traditional real-world assets rather than launching or supporting cryptocurrencies, Chinese enterprises like Futian can enjoy the transparency, efficiency, and global reach of blockchain without breaching Beijing’s digital asset restrictions.

Policymakers have also voiced concern about the influence of dollar-backed stablecoins, making tightly controlled RWA initiatives a more palatable use case.

Futian’s pioneering Ethereum-based bond shows how state-owned giants in China are willing to experiment with blockchain to modernize finance—provided the use case remains under regulatory oversight.

Here at Coinlive, we believe that this blend of innovation and caution allows China to reap the benefits of tokenization while maintaining economic control.

The world will be watching to see whether such moves become a blueprint for broader financial integration, or remain carefully contained pilots on the frontier of regulated digital assets.