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BNY Moves Fund Administration Onto Blockchain for $8.6 Trillion

BNY wants to bring fund books and records onchain to modernize transfer agency. The move fits into the rise of tokenized funds at firms like BlackRock and Baillie Gifford.

By Mike Hesp
• 2 min read
BNY Moves Fund Administration Onto Blockchain for $8.6 Trillion

Key Takeaways

  • BNY is moving a major part of its fund administration onchain to modernize transfer agency and ownership records.
  • The bank handles about $8.6 trillion in assets across 7.6 million accounts and expects traditional systems to stick around for years.
  • Tokenized funds are gaining ground with major firms, while BNY warns about risks like smart contract and bridge bugs.

BNY is shifting a key part of its fund administration onto blockchain. The move highlights how traditional asset managers are still building the plumbing behind tokenized funds. With more than $59 trillion (€51.9 trillion) in assets under custody and administration, the bank says it wants to update transfer agency by putting books and records onchain.

One Record of Ownership

BNY says the blockchain setup should create a single source of truth for ownership, cutting down the need for intermediaries. Carolyn Weinberg, the bank’s chief product and innovation officer, said the goal is to modernize a function that sits behind nearly every fund transaction.

The bank oversees about $8.6 trillion (€7.6 trillion) across 7.6 million accounts. Emily Portney, global head of asset servicing, also said the legacy system is not disappearing anytime soon. In BNY’s view, a large share of funds will continue running on traditional rails for years.

Tokenized Funds Are Gaining Ground

The new system fits into a wider shift on Wall Street, where asset managers are increasingly experimenting with tokenized money market funds and other blockchain-based products. Baillie Gifford, one of BNY’s clients, will use the service for what the companies call the first fully native, UK-regulated tokenized fund. BlackRock and Dreyfus are also among the firms planning to use the infrastructure for upcoming funds.

Tokenized funds typically hold short-term debt and cash, but represent ownership rights as blockchain tokens. That makes them appealing for firms looking to speed up settlement, administration, and transferability without fully abandoning existing market infrastructure.

Why This Matters

For European crypto and fund investors, the takeaway is that blockchain is no longer just about standalone crypto products. It is also moving into the back office of traditional finance. The rise of tokenized assets and clearer regulation, including in the EU and the US, is making it easier for large institutions to launch these systems. At the same time, BNY still points to risks such as smart contract and bridge bugs, which shows the infrastructure is not yet seamless.

BNY’s move also fits the broader institutional push toward tokenization, as outlined in Wall Street Makes Tokenization a Strategic Priority. In other words, major financial firms are increasingly treating blockchain as part of the market’s core infrastructure, not just as a separate crypto experiment.

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