Plume has launched a tokenized vault called nBND, giving institutional investors onchain access to Fidelity's Total Bond ETF (FBND) and its approximately $28 billion in assets under management.

The launch deepens the bridge between traditional fixed-income products and onchain settlement, a market segment that has drawn growing institutional interest as tokenization pilots have multiplied across the industry.

How the vault is structured

The product, formally the Nest Fidelity Total Bond ETF Vault and also referenced as nFBND, runs on Nest, Plume's protocol for packaging real-world assets into tokens. It issues a receipt token that trades on Plume's own modular Layer-2 blockchain, which the company built for RWA tokenization.

The receipt token represents a claim on the underlying FBND shares held by the vault. Depositors hand over capital and receive a token proving their ownership stake. Nest vaults accept stablecoin deposits, allowing users to move digital dollars into the product without routing money through a brokerage account.

The token is positioned for institutions seeking bond exposure in a compliant and liquid wrapper, according to Plume's announcement. By moving the subscription process onchain, the structure compresses settlement times and creates a programmable layer on top of a regulated fund.

The fund underneath

FBND is not a newcomer. Fidelity launched the ETF on October 6, 2014, and it has grown to manage roughly $28 billion. The fund carries a 0.36% expense ratio and offers a yield of around 4.88%. It is actively managed, with portfolio managers selecting bonds rather than passively tracking an index.

For institutions, that distinction matters. Active management introduces manager-selection risk but allows the portfolio to respond to shifting rate environments, a feature that pure index products cannot replicate.

The ether.fi connection

The FBND product grew out of a partnership between Plume and ether.fi formed in June 2026. The two firms built the Etherfi Liquid RWA vault, which launched with an initial deployment of $25 million and carries a projected $100 million target.

That vault's holdings include allocations to BlackRock's iShares AAA CLO ETF alongside Fidelity's FBND. The structure gives ether.fi users regulated exposure to yield-bearing bond markets without leaving the crypto ecosystem, broadening the restaking protocol's yield sources beyond native crypto assets.

Plume's regulatory groundwork

Plume's public mainnet, Plume Genesis, launched in June 2025 with a focus on asset tokenization. In October 2025, the company obtained SEC transfer-agent registration to support tokenized securities. A transfer agent maintains the official record of who owns a security, a role usually invisible but central once ownership lives on a blockchain.

The registration positions Plume to handle share ownership records for tokenized products itself, reducing reliance on intermediaries and supporting regulatory compliance for institutional participants.

What risks remain?

A receipt token adds a layer between the investor and the underlying ETF, introducing smart contract and platform risk on top of ordinary bond market risk. Interest rate movements will still affect FBND's value regardless of the chain on which the token lives.

The Etherfi Liquid RWA vault, which started at $25 million and carries a $100 million target, will serve as an early gauge of whether institutional and crypto-native capital are willing to absorb tokenized bond exposure at scale.