Dubai-based maritime investment platform Shipfinex has partnered with ADI Chain to bring a portfolio of roughly 35 vessels, valued at about $500 million, into a blockchain-based tokenization structure.
The project aims to give shipowners and investors new ways to access maritime financing by representing economic rights linked to individual vessels as digital tokens.
Under the proposed structure, each ship will be held through a separate special-purpose vehicle, or SPV. This allows the financial rights connected to one vessel to remain legally separate from the rest of the portfolio.
ADI Chain will provide the blockchain infrastructure needed for token distribution and settlement.
The project is still in its pilot and operational-readiness phase, meaning no Maritime Asset Tokens have been publicly issued yet.
Summary
- Shipfinex plans to tokenize around 35 vessels worth approximately $500 million.
- Each vessel will be placed in a separate SPV.
- Tokens could represent vessel-backed credit, charter income, or other economic rights.
- ADI Chain will provide blockchain-based distribution and settlement infrastructure.
- Stablecoins denominated in UAE dirhams, U.S. dollars, and other currencies may be used.
- The project has not yet entered public issuance.
- Tokenized real-world assets were valued at about $38.1 billion as of Aug. 9.
- Standard Chartered expects tokenized assets to potentially reach $4 trillion by the end of 2028.
Shipfinex prepares $500 million vessel tokenization pipeline
Shipfinex plans to place each vessel in the proposed portfolio inside its own special-purpose vehicle.
This structure is important because ships are physical assets that exist outside the blockchain. An SPV can legally hold ownership or financial interests connected to a vessel, while digital tokens can then represent specific economic rights linked to that entity.
Depending on how individual transactions are structured, investors could gain exposure to vessel-backed credit, charter-related income, or other financial interests associated with a ship.
Keeping every vessel in a separate SPV also means the economic performance of one ship can be treated independently from the rest of the portfolio.
For example, revenue generated by one vessel under a charter agreement could potentially be linked to a specific token structure without affecting tokens connected to another ship.
This approach could make maritime assets more flexible from a financing and investment perspective.
Traditionally, ships are financed through bank loans, leasing structures, institutional capital, and private investment.
Tokenization introduces another possible route by allowing defined economic rights to be represented digitally and settled through blockchain networks.
However, Shipfinex has made clear that the initiative has not yet reached the public issuance stage.
The companies have identified a pipeline of around 35 vessels, but no Maritime Asset Tokens have been released to investors.
The project remains focused on pilot testing, operational preparation, and establishing the regulated framework required for issuance.
ADI Chain to handle distribution and settlement
ADI Chain will serve as the blockchain infrastructure layer behind the proposed vessel tokenization program.
Its role is expected to include both token distribution and settlement.
Primary token allocations and future distributions could be processed using stablecoins linked to currencies such as the UAE dirham and the U.S. dollar.
Using stablecoins could simplify blockchain-based payments while allowing investors and vessel operators to work with digital representations of familiar fiat currencies.
ADI Chain already has exposure to stablecoin and institutional digital asset infrastructure in the UAE.
The network has previously supported dirham-denominated digital asset initiatives, including DDSC, a stablecoin backed one-to-one by UAE dirham reserves.
That existing settlement infrastructure could become useful if Shipfinex moves ahead with tokenized vessel offerings involving UAE dirham-denominated transactions.
ADI Chain has also been involved in Abu Dhabi’s growing institutional digital asset ecosystem.
The broader environment has attracted banks, digital asset firms, and blockchain infrastructure providers interested in custody, tokenization, stablecoins, and real-world assets.
For Shipfinex, the partnership gives the company access to blockchain infrastructure without requiring it to build the complete settlement system independently.
Maritime assets emerge as a tokenization opportunity
The global shipping industry represents a large pool of high-value physical assets.
Clarksons Research valued the global fleet and ship orderbook at approximately $2.1 trillion at the beginning of 2026.
Against that figure, Shipfinex’s planned $500 million portfolio represents only a small percentage of the overall maritime market.
Still, the initiative could demonstrate how blockchain infrastructure may be used to provide financial exposure to assets that have traditionally been difficult for smaller investors to access.
Individual ships can be extremely expensive.
Depending on the type and size of a vessel, prices can reach tens of millions of dollars, making direct ownership inaccessible to most investors.
Tokenization could potentially divide certain economic rights connected to those assets into more manageable digital units.
This does not necessarily mean tokenholders would directly own a physical ship.
Instead, the rights attached to a token would depend on the legal and financial structure behind the offering.
A token could represent exposure to lending income, charter revenue, or another contractual economic interest.
The underlying SPV would remain responsible for connecting the blockchain-based token with the real-world vessel.
Blockchain shipping projects gain momentum
Shipfinex is not the first company exploring blockchain-based maritime finance.
Other platforms have also begun developing models that connect vessel ownership and operating income with tokenized investment products.
One example is Ethra Ship, which launched a blockchain-based investment protocol tied to operating maritime assets.
Its model separated a governance token from a regulated real-world asset investment layer backed by vessel-owning SPVs.
The structure also relied on vessels already generating commercial revenue, allowing income from maritime operations to support the investment model.
These projects highlight why shipping may be well suited to certain forms of tokenization.
Ships are high-value assets with identifiable ownership structures, established financing arrangements, and potentially predictable revenue from charter agreements.
At the same time, maritime investments have historically been relatively illiquid and difficult for smaller investors to access.
Blockchain technology could potentially make settlement, ownership records, and distribution of financial rights more efficient.
However, the legal structure remains critical because the underlying asset still exists in the physical world.
Tokenized real-world assets climb to $38.1 billion
Shipfinex’s initiative comes as the wider market for tokenized real-world assets continues to expand.
According to RWA.xyz data cited in the original report, tokenized real-world assets reached approximately $38.1 billion as of Aug. 9.
U.S. Treasury-related assets accounted for roughly $16.2 billion, while tokenized commodities represented around $4.9 billion.
The market has grown considerably compared with early 2025.
At the start of that year, tokenized real-world assets were worth roughly $5.4 billion.
By May 2026, market estimates had climbed to around $31 billion to $34 billion.
The growth reflects increasing interest in bringing traditional financial instruments and physical assets onto blockchain networks.
Government bonds have been one of the largest categories so far, but tokenization is expanding into private credit, commodities, funds, real estate, and other traditionally off-chain markets.
Maritime assets could become another category if platforms such as Shipfinex successfully complete regulated issuance.
Why vessel tokenization could matter
Shipping is a capital-intensive industry.
Purchasing and operating vessels often requires large amounts of financing, and shipowners typically depend on banks, leasing companies, institutional lenders, and private investors.
Tokenization could introduce an additional financing channel.
Rather than replacing traditional financing entirely, blockchain-based structures could potentially complement existing methods.
For shipowners, tokenized credit or revenue-linked instruments could create another way to raise capital.
For investors, the structure could offer exposure to maritime assets without requiring the purchase of an entire vessel.
Blockchain settlement could also make certain processes faster and more transparent, particularly when payments or distributions involve digital currencies.
Stablecoins may play an important role because they allow blockchain transactions to remain denominated in currencies familiar to businesses and investors.
Under the Shipfinex model, stablecoins tied to UAE dirhams, U.S. dollars, and potentially other currencies could be used for subscriptions and distributions.
Standard Chartered sees major growth in tokenized assets
Large financial institutions are increasingly forecasting substantial growth for the tokenized asset market.
Standard Chartered has projected that tokenized assets could reach approximately $4 trillion by the end of 2028.
The bank’s earlier forecast divided that potential market roughly equally between stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets.
That would mean around $2 trillion in stablecoins and another $2 trillion in tokenized RWAs.
The forecast reflects expectations that more traditional financial assets will gradually move onto blockchain infrastructure.
Standard Chartered has also pointed to institutional products such as BlackRock’s BUIDL fund as examples of how traditional assets can exist on-chain while retaining real-world financial utility.
Tokenized Treasury products have already become one of the most developed segments of the RWA market.
The next stage could involve a wider range of physical and financial assets.
Shipping, infrastructure, real estate, commodities, and private credit are among the areas where tokenization could potentially gain traction.
Shipfinex still faces regulatory and operational steps
Despite the size of the proposed $500 million pipeline, Shipfinex’s project remains at an early stage.
No Maritime Asset Tokens have been publicly issued.
The company and ADI Chain are still working through pilot preparations, operational readiness, and the regulated route required to bring the products to market.
That distinction is important because announcing a tokenization pipeline is not the same as completing a regulated token issuance.
The final structure will determine what rights investors actually receive, how those rights are enforced, which jurisdictions can participate, and what compliance requirements will apply.
If Shipfinex successfully moves the project from the pilot stage into regulated issuance, the initiative could become one of the more notable examples of maritime asset tokenization.
For now, the partnership highlights growing interest in bringing high-value physical assets such as commercial vessels into the expanding real-world asset tokenization market.
