Plume launched nBND on October 5, providing blockchain-based exposure to Fidelity Total Bond ETF (FBND), an actively managed fund spanning government, corporate, mortgage, high-yield, and emerging-market debt worth approximately $28 billion. However, Fidelity has not tokenized the fund itself, and its assets remain entirely offchain.
The nBND vehicle operates as a receipt token issued through Plume's Nest protocol. Rather than converting FBND shares to blockchain directly, the structure wraps exposure to shares held inside a vault and issues investors a receipt token. Hours after launch, Defillama recorded approximately $48 in onchain nFBND assets.
Moving Beyond Treasury-Focused Products
Onchain fixed income has primarily focused on short-duration U.S. Treasuries and money-market products. Plume CEO and co-founder Chris Yin stated that while these represent starting points, institutional allocators seek duration and active management—the same building blocks used in traditional finance.
FBND brings substantial duration to the onchain market. Fidelity launched the ETF in October 2014, and as of June, the fund held net assets of $26.6 billion, with third-party estimates around early October placing it near $28 billion. Fidelity's quarterly review showed approximately six years of duration, a 4.74% 30-day SEC yield, and a portfolio weighted heavily toward investment-grade debt.
Structure and Current State
Investors depositing into nBND do not become registered FBND shareholders. Fidelity has not moved thousands of bond positions onto Plume Mainnet. The $28 billion figure belongs to FBND itself, not to nBND, which began with roughly $48 in onchain assets.
The receipt token structure could theoretically become programmable collateral or move through decentralized finance applications without requiring underlying securities to leave traditional custody. Cynthia Lo Bessette, Fidelity Investments' head of digital asset management, said Fidelity is working with Plume to bring financial products onchain, highlighting programmable portfolios, collateral utility, and access to capital.
Plume counts institutional names among its backers, including Apollo Global Management, Galaxy, Brevan Howard, and Haun Ventures. Nest operates Treasury and private-credit vaults supporting the structure.
