Arbitrum Expands Institutional RWA Stack as Arowana Launches Tokenized Gold

• Arowana will launch AGT token and Aqua gold platform on Arbitrum in March 2026 with physically backed gold.
• Hancom Group operates Korea’s third-largest gold exchange with 600 million in trading volume and 18 years of experience in metals.

Arbitrum is adding new infrastructure for institutional real-world assets as Arowana prepares to bring tokenized gold to the network. Offchain Labs announced that Arowana, backed by Hancom Group, will launch its gold tokenization platform on Arbitrum. The release said the rollout is planned for March 2026.

Arowana plans to issue the AGT token and operate the Aqua platform on Arbitrum. The product is designed to represent gold backed by physical holdings.

The project seeks to provide predictable transaction performance and reduce operating costs for onchain commodities, with Arbitrum as the scalable underlying Layer 2 network. The alliance also bridges the network’s DeFi setting with commodity-backed assets, with an emphasis on licensed applications.

Institutional RWAs require predictable performance, low fees, and scalable infrastructure. Arowana said it will link physical gold markets with onchain rails, with auditable verification and custody frameworks.

Moreover, the statement said Hancom operates Korea’s third-largest gold exchange. It cited $600 million in trading volume and 18 years of experience in precious metals. Arowana is expected to use that market presence to support distribution and operational processes.

March Launch to Introduce AGT Token and Aqua Platform

The platform will support digital gold transfers with fast settlement on Arbitrum. It is also set to integrate with decentralized applications on the network. The companies said the design supports DeFi use cases for gold, including collateral for RWA lending, yield strategies, and stablecoin-related utilities.

The collaboration will extend beyond deployment. The parties plan to develop integrated collateral systems that use tokenized assets within DeFi protocols. The announcement also referenced efforts to broaden RWA utility and stablecoin functions that link to real-world markets.

The release listed planned features for the Aqua platform. These include real-time proof-of-reserves integration, mobile applications, and partnerships with custody vault providers. This will provide both retail and institutional users with access to tokenized gold, with verifiable reserves and defined custody arrangements.

Offchain Labs said tokenization is moving into production use for financial infrastructure. Chief Strategy Officer at Offchain Labs, A.J. Warner, added, “Tokenization of real-world assets has evolved from an emerging concept to essential financial infrastructure.”

Earlier this month, CNF reported that Arbitrum enabled ERC-8004, Ethereum’s proposed standard for a universal trust layer for autonomous AI agents. The update adds onchain identity, verifiable reputation, and cross-platform discovery for AI agents on Arbitrum.

At the time of writing, the ARB price was $0.1090, down 3.5% over 24 hours, but trading volume was up 33% over the same period.