Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager with an impressive €2.4 trillion in assets under management (AUM), has solidified its commitment to the evolving landscape of digital finance by launching its second on-chain fund. This new venture, the Spiko Amundi Overnight Swap Fund (SAFO), represents a significant step in tokenizing traditional financial instruments and leverages the robust infrastructure of Chainlink oracles to ensure transparency and real-time data dissemination. SAFO is a tokenized UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) vehicle, a regulatory framework widely recognized and respected across the European Union, indicating a deliberate effort to bridge the gap between decentralized finance (DeFi) innovation and established regulatory compliance. The fund’s shareholder register is hosted on both the Ethereum and Stellar blockchains, showcasing a sophisticated dual-chain architecture designed to harness the strengths of each network.

This launch follows Amundi’s inaugural foray into tokenized funds in November of the previous year, which involved a tokenized money market fund on the Ethereum blockchain in collaboration with CACEIS. The introduction of SAFO signifies a strategic acceleration of Amundi’s digital asset strategy, moving beyond a single experiment to a more integrated approach. The deployment of Chainlink’s decentralized oracle network is a critical component of SAFO’s operational framework. Oracles serve as the crucial bridge between off-chain data sources, such as the valuation of underlying assets and market prices, and the on-chain smart contracts that govern the fund’s operations. By utilizing Chainlink, Amundi ensures that the Net Asset Value (NAV) of SAFO is accurately and securely published to both the Ethereum and Stellar networks in near real-time. This capability is paramount for investor confidence and efficient fund management in a tokenized environment.

The choice of a dual-chain architecture, pairing Ethereum’s extensive smart contract ecosystem with Stellar’s efficient and lower-cost transaction capabilities, highlights a pragmatic approach to optimizing for both functionality and economic efficiency. Ethereum’s mature smart contract environment is ideal for the complex logic and security requirements of a tokenized fund, while Stellar’s architecture is well-suited for high-volume, low-cost token transfers, potentially reducing operational expenses for investors.

Total Return Swaps: A Novel Approach to On-Chain Yield

SAFO distinguishes itself significantly from the prevailing wave of tokenized real-world asset (RWA) funds that primarily focus on tokenizing U.S. Treasury bills. While tokenized Treasuries have been a foundational element in the RWA market, SAFO adopts a more sophisticated financial structure: fully collateralized total return swaps. Instead of directly investing in government securities, SAFO’s underlying strategy involves holding a portfolio of assets on behalf of a major banking institution. In return for the investment returns generated by this portfolio, the bank agrees to pay the fund a premium above risk-free benchmarks.

This structural innovation addresses a key pain point for financial institutions. Holding significant asset portfolios on their own balance sheets can be prohibitively expensive for banks due to stringent regulatory capital requirements. By entering into these total return swaps, banks can effectively gain exposure to the returns of an asset portfolio without incurring the capital costs associated with direct ownership. This creates a mutually beneficial arrangement, allowing Amundi to offer attractive yields to its investors while providing banks with an off-balance-sheet solution for asset exposure.

The fund has initiated its operations by engaging in fully collateralized total return swaps with prominent global banks. The inaugural counterparty for these swaps is BNP Paribas, a leading financial services group. This partnership underscores the caliber of institutions that are engaging with tokenized financial products and signals a growing acceptance of these instruments within the traditional banking sector. Beyond BNP Paribas, the fund’s eligible counterparties include a distinguished roster of global financial giants, such as Société Générale, Crédit Agricole CIB, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, UBS, and HSBC. The inclusion of such a broad and reputable group of counterparties suggests a well-structured risk management framework and a commitment to robust liquidity provision.

SAFO is designed to offer stable yields and provide overnight liquidity, making it an attractive option for investors seeking predictable returns and readily accessible capital. The fund is available in multiple fiat currencies, including EUR, USD, GBP, and CHF, catering to a diverse international investor base. CACEIS, a well-established custodian bank and fund administrator, plays a crucial role as the depositary bank and fund administrator, ensuring the safekeeping of assets and overseeing the fund’s administrative functions. Spiko, the tokenization platform and broker, facilitates the entire tokenization process, from issuance to the management of the shareholder register on the chosen blockchains, acting as the transfer agent.

Spiko’s Ascendancy in European Tokenized Finance

The launch of SAFO marks a significant milestone for Spiko, further cementing its position as a rapidly growing player in the European tokenized finance ecosystem. According to data from RWAxyz, Spiko surpassed $1 billion in distributed asset value in February, a remarkable increase from $190 million just a year prior. This exponential growth highlights the increasing demand for tokenized financial products and Spiko’s capability to deliver innovative solutions that meet market needs. The platform’s success is indicative of a broader trend: the institutional adoption of blockchain technology for traditional finance.

The RWA Boom: A Paradigm Shift in Asset Management

SAFO’s introduction coincides with a period of unprecedented expansion in the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market. As of March 19th, the total distributed asset value in the RWA sector reached $27.3 billion, reflecting a 9% increase over the preceding 30 days, according to RWAxyz. This growth trajectory is not a recent phenomenon but rather a continuation of a trend that gained significant momentum in 2025.

The year 2025 was a pivotal period for RWAs, often cited as a breakout year for the sector. At the beginning of 2025, the RWA market was valued at approximately $5.5 billion. By the end of the year, this figure had more than tripled, reaching roughly $18.6 billion. This substantial growth was primarily fueled by the tokenization of traditional financial instruments such as U.S. Treasuries and private credit. The emergence of institutional-grade products from leading asset managers like BlackRock’s BUIDL fund and Franklin Templeton’s BENJI has been instrumental in driving this adoption. These initiatives have not only validated the potential of tokenized RWAs but have also made them more accessible to a wider range of institutional investors, thereby accelerating market maturation.

The RWA market represents a fundamental shift in how assets are managed and transacted. By bringing traditional assets onto blockchain rails, tokenization offers several compelling advantages: enhanced liquidity, fractional ownership, increased transparency, reduced settlement times, and the potential for greater operational efficiency. These benefits are particularly attractive to institutional investors who are constantly seeking ways to optimize their portfolios and streamline their operations.

Broader Implications and Future Outlook

The launch of SAFO by Amundi, a titan of the European asset management industry, carries significant implications for the broader financial landscape. It signals a clear endorsement of blockchain technology and tokenization by mainstream financial institutions, moving these concepts from the fringes of fintech innovation to the core of institutional strategy. The successful implementation of Chainlink oracles for NAV publication demonstrates a mature understanding of the technical requirements for on-chain financial products, emphasizing security, reliability, and transparency.

The dual-chain approach employed by SAFO, utilizing both Ethereum and Stellar, suggests a nuanced understanding of blockchain’s strengths and weaknesses. This hybrid model may become a blueprint for future tokenized asset offerings, allowing for the customization of blockchain infrastructure based on specific use cases and economic considerations.

Furthermore, the focus on total return swaps, rather than simple tokenized Treasuries, indicates a maturation of the RWA market. This move towards more complex financial instruments demonstrates the potential for tokenization to unlock new investment strategies and create novel financial products that cater to sophisticated investor needs. The involvement of major global banks as counterparties in these swaps is a powerful indicator of institutional readiness and acceptance.

The rapid growth of Spiko and the overall RWA market underscores a fundamental transformation underway in asset management. As regulatory frameworks continue to adapt and technological infrastructure matures, the tokenization of real-world assets is poised to become an increasingly integral part of global finance. Amundi’s strategic investments in this space, particularly with the successful deployment of SAFO, position the firm at the forefront of this digital financial revolution, likely inspiring further innovation and adoption across the industry. The coming years will undoubtedly witness a continued convergence of traditional finance and blockchain technology, with tokenized funds like SAFO leading the charge towards a more efficient, transparent, and accessible financial future.