Securitize Corp. (NYSE: SECZ) has agreed to buy River Credit Labs Inc., known as River One, adding a warehouse-financing business as it seeks to connect tokenized assets with lending.
KKR Credit research and Integer Advisors estimated the private asset-backed finance market at $6.1 trillion for 2024, based on data available as of March 31, 2024, compared with $3.1 trillion in 2006. KKR projects the market could reach $9.2 trillion by 2029. The estimate covers financial assets originated and held by nonbanks, excluding loans securitized or sold to government agencies and assets acquired in secondary markets, capital markets or through syndicated channels. KKR cites tighter bank regulation, higher capital requirements, stricter underwriting after the global financial crisis and bank consolidation as factors behind the market’s growth.
River One focuses on warehouse financing. In this model, income-producing assets such as small-business loans and receivables back a facility that supplies capital as lenders and loan originators make new loans, Securitize said. The planned combination would give institutions a way to tokenize financial assets and arrange loans secured by them, according to the company.
River One is also developing relationships with capital providers in the stablecoin ecosystem. Securitize did not disclose how much capital has been committed or River One’s current financing volume. The company said the expanded platform is intended to serve financial institutions, fintech lenders and asset originators, and could create new revenue opportunities for Securitize; it did not quantify those potential gains.
Securitize said River One was founded in New York in 2025 and incubated by Framework Ventures. Framework Ventures and Maple Finance have backed the company. Securitize reported average tokenized assets of $5 billion for the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30, up 39% from a year earlier. Chairman and CEO Carlos Domingo said, “Credit is one of the most exciting emerging asset classes for blockchain-based financial markets.”
The definitive agreement was announced Nov. 9, but the acquisition has not closed. Securitize did not disclose the purchase price or other financial terms and expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary conditions.
