Atlas Plans USAFi Launch With Nasdaq ETF Backing and VARA Approval

Nouriel Roubini supports USAFi token launch after years of crypto criticism

Nouriel Roubini, the economist long known for his harsh criticism of cryptocurrenciesenters digital assets with Atlas Capital Team’s planned launch of USAFi, a regulated token backed by real-world financial assets.

Atlas Capital Team and its Dubai subsidiary, Atlas AI Labs, published a white paper co-authored by Roubini that introduces USAFi and a broader thesis the company calls the “Technodollar.” The concept frames the next phase of dollar dominance around artificial intelligence (AI), digital infrastructure and tokenized reserve assets.

USAFi is scheduled to launch in the third quarter of 2026 under the auspices of Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Atlas said the token would be issued under VARA’s asset-referenced virtual asset rulebook.

ETF-backed token targets permissionless funding

Atlas describes USAFi as the first permissionless regulated security. The product is designed as a ERC-20 token which can trade on chains without permission while being backed by the Atlas America Fund, an SEC-registered and actively managed ETF listed on Nasdaq.

The fund’s reserve assets are held at the Bank of New York. Atlas said the structure aims to bring institutional quality guarantees in decentralized finance while retaining 24/7 portability and on-chain access.

Roubini said his shift from criticism to participation reflects the difference between speculative tokens and assets backed by diversified reserves. He commented:

VARA has developed a framework that embraces responsible innovation while maintaining the transparency and investor protection that institutional markets demand.

Atlas launches the “technodollar”

Atlas said USAFi is built around reserves diversified across Treasuries, gold, food and strategic commodities, defense, cybersecurity and industries reshaped by AI.

Reza Bundy, chairman and CEO of Atlas Capital Team, said the dollar has evolved from gold dollar to petrodollar and is now entering a third phase. He described the Technodollar as a digital reserve backed by exposure to the most productive U.S. AI-related industries rather than a single commodity. Bundy said:

Atlas is a digital, agentic reserve infrastructure: the AI ​​manages the portfolio on a daily basis according to the rules set by our investment committee, the committee makes the decisions and we tokenize the instrument so that it can be held and traded on-chain.

For Atlas, USAFi is a bet that the next wave of tokenization will not be built just around stablecoins that move dollars, but around regulated digital assets designed to preserve purchasing power.