Amundi’s Groundbreaking Venture into Tokenized Funds with Spiko
Amundi, a prominent asset manager in Europe, is making waves with the introduction of the Spiko Amundi Overnight Swap Fund (SAFO). This pioneering tokenized fund is being launched on the Ethereum and Stellar blockchains, backed by an initial asset commitment of $100 million.
Revolutionizing Traditional Investment with Tokenization
Amundi is bridging the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and the burgeoning world of tokenized assets. In an official announcement, Amundi revealed its partnership with Spiko, a regulated French platform specializing in tokenization, to establish SAFO as a tokenized sub-fund of SPIKO SICAV.
SAFO is crafted as a traditional fund enveloped in a tokenized shell, aimed at corporate treasury and collateral management. This innovative solution offers a low-risk, on-chain cash parking with overnight liquidity. The fund operates through fully collateralized total return swaps with leading banks, providing stable yields above risk-free rates and allowing investors to redeem their investments overnight. It supports multiple currencies, including EUR, USD, GBP, and CHF, and offers accessibility with subscriptions starting from just one unit, a rarity in institutional-grade cash products.
Amundi emphasizes that the fund facilitates near-instantaneous settlement, multiple asset-holding methods, live shareholder register visibility, and global movement of fund shares around the clock. Automated access is available via APIs or smart contracts.
The Ethereum and Stellar Advantage
The fund’s architecture leverages Ethereum and Stellar blockchains, with Ethereum selected for its robust smart contract features and DeFi integration, while Stellar facilitates quicker, cost-effective transfers and 24/7 fund unit transferability. Chainlink plays a crucial role by integrating SAFO’s fund value into the blockchain, acting as a bridge between Ethereum, Stellar, and traditional systems. This integration provides a secure, standardized method for sharing information, building upon successful tests with DTCC and other major institutions.
This launch marks Amundi’s second foray into tokenized funds within a few months. In November, Amundi introduced a tokenized share class of a money market fund on Ethereum, collaborating with CACEIS, a leading asset servicing provider in Europe.
Amundi’s latest initiative adds to the expanding realm of tokenized money-market products, joining the ranks of industry giants like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, further solidifying Ethereum’s role as the primary settlement layer for institutional Real-World Assets (RWAs).
The integration of a €2.3 trillion asset manager like Amundi into Ethereum and Chainlink underscores the emerging trend where tokenized cash, bonds, and funds drive the next phase of the crypto cycle, moving beyond speculative DeFi.
