Atlas to Launch USAFi ETF-Backed Token with VARA Approval

Atlas Capital Team and its Dubai unit, Atlas AI Labs, plan to issue USAFi in the third quarter of 2026 under Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The token will be structured as a regulated, permissionless ERC-20 security issued under VARA’s Asset Referenced Virtual Asset Rulebook.

USAFi will be backed by the Atlas America Fund, an SEC-registered, actively managed ETF listed on Nasdaq. Atlas says the ETF’s reserve assets will be custodied at the Bank of New York. The token is designed to trade on permissionless blockchains while remaining tied to the ETF reserves.

The project whitepaper, co-authored by economist Nouriel Roubini, describes a reserve composition that includes U.S. Treasuries, gold, food and other strategic commodities, and exposure to sectors such as defense, cybersecurity and industries affected by artificial intelligence. Atlas plans an AI-driven daily portfolio management process that operates inside rules set by an Investment Committee.

Roubini, long known for criticizing cryptocurrencies, joined the project as a co-author and early backer. In the whitepaper he wrote that VARA’s framework offers a balance between innovation and investor protections that he views as necessary for institutional participation.

Reza Bundy, chairman and chief executive of Atlas Capital Team, described the firm’s approach with the following words: “Atlas is an agentic, digital reserve infrastructure: AI runs the portfolio day to day within the rules our Investment Committee sets, the Committee makes the decisions, and we tokenize the instrument so it can be held and traded on chain.” The company says the token will provide 24/7 onchain access to assets held in regulated reserves.

Atlas expects to proceed after securing VARA approval under the asset-referenced rules. The firm presents USAFi as an example of tokenizing regulated financial instruments to allow onchain trading while aligning with existing custody and regulatory arrangements.