Plume has launched the nBND vault, a tokenized fixed-income product backed primarily by shares of the Fidelity Total Bond ETF (FBND). The structure gives onchain allocators exposure to an actively managed bond portfolio that reaches beyond the short-duration U.S. Treasury products that have dominated tokenized fixed income.
Plume announced the vault on October 5, saying FBND serves as its primary reserve asset. nBND is a tokenized wrapper around exposure to the ETF. Fidelity has not moved the entire FBND fund onto a blockchain, and Plume did not disclose how many ETF shares were placed in the vault at launch.
nBND adds active bond exposure to Plume’s RWA market
FBND is an actively managed fixed-income ETF that seeks a high level of current income. Fidelity says the strategy invests across investment-grade, high-yield and emerging-market debt, while keeping overall interest-rate risk broadly aligned with the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.
That makes the product different from tokenized Treasury bills and money-market products, which have been the main entry point for blockchain-based fixed income. Plume CEO Chris Yin said institutional allocators are looking for duration and active management in addition to short-term government debt.
The underlying ETF is already substantial in traditional markets. Fidelity reported FBND assets of $26.6 billion as of June 30, 2026, with an expense ratio of 0.36% and an October 6, 2014 inception date.
Fidelity confirms collaboration with Plume
The launch announcement also included a statement from Cynthia Lo Bessette, Fidelity Investments’ head of digital asset management. She said Fidelity is working with Plume to bring financial products onchain and expand the ways investors can build programmable portfolios.
The statement confirms Fidelity’s participation in the project, but the announcement did not set adoption targets, identify the size of the initial allocation or name the next Fidelity product that could be added.
Crypto Briefing described the product as the Nest Fidelity Total Bond ETF Vault. It said the vault issues a receipt token representing a claim on the underlying structure. DefiLlama currently labels that receipt token NFBND, creating a naming difference between the public nBND launch and third-party vault listings.
Tokenized bonds move beyond Treasury bills
Plume is positioning nBND as part of a broader shift toward more varied onchain fixed-income products. Its announcement said tokenized U.S. Treasuries reached about $15 billion in June 2026, while the traditional global fixed-income market remains far larger.
For investors, the change also introduces a wider risk set. FBND can hold below-investment-grade and emerging-market debt, so its value can be affected by interest rates, credit spreads and market liquidity. The tokenized wrapper adds separate blockchain, smart-contract and platform risks that do not exist when an investor buys FBND directly through a conventional brokerage account.
The key test will be adoption. Plume has established the wrapper and Fidelity has confirmed the collaboration, but the amount of capital moving into nBND remains undisclosed. Until that changes, the launch is best viewed as new market infrastructure rather than evidence that tens of billions of dollars in Fidelity bond assets have moved onchain.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Digital assets, tokenized securities and bond funds carry market, credit, liquidity, technology and regulatory risks. Investors should review official product documents and eligibility requirements before investing.
