BNP Paribas Asset Management has issued a tokenised share class of a French-domiciled money market fund using the public Ethereum blockchain, the firm announced on February 20, 2026.
Sign up to our free newsletters
By ETFWorld.co.uk
Edouard Legrand, Chief Digital and Data Officer at BNP Paribas Asset Management
The initiative is an intra-group experiment designed to test end-to-end fund processes within a regulated framework.
The tokenised shares were issued via BNP Paribas’ AssetFoundryTM platform. The structure uses a permissioned access model on the public Ethereum network, meaning that while the transaction records reside on a public blockchain, holding and transfers of the tokens are restricted to eligible and authorised participants. This approach is intended to comply with applicable regulatory requirements while allowing the firm to assess public blockchain infrastructure.
BNP Paribas Securities Services acted as transfer agent and fund dealing services provider for the project. The business also managed the wallet setup and held the private key within the scope of the controlled pilot. BNP Paribas CIB’s AssetFoundryTM platform provided the tokenisation layer and connectivity to the Ethereum network.
This marks the firm’s second tokenised money market fund initiative. An earlier project involved a Luxembourg-domiciled fund issued on a private blockchain. The current experiment uses a public blockchain with permissioned access, reflecting BNP Paribas’ approach to testing multiple technological and operational models for fund tokenisation .
The project was conducted as a one-off, limited experiment within the group. According to the firm, tokenisation is being explored across the financial industry for its potential to alter how investment funds are issued and distributed. For money market funds, which are used by corporate and institutional investors for liquidity management, tokenisation could offer an alternative to traditional batch-based processing by enabling more frequent and flexible handling of fund-related operations .
The experiment follows broader institutional activity in digital assets. In January 2026, BNP Paribas Securities Services participated in a trial with Swift, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Societe Generale-FORGE to settle tokenised bonds using both fiat currency and a regulated stablecoin, testing delivery-versus-payment and other lifecycle events .
Edouard Legrand, Chief Digital and Data Officer at BNP Paribas Asset Management, stated: “BNP Paribas Asset Management is committed to driving innovation that will ultimately benefits our clients. This second issuance of tokenised money market funds, this time using public blockchain infrastructure, supports our ongoing efforts to explore how tokenisation can contribute to greater operational efficiency and security within a regulated framework.”
Julien Clausse, Head of AssetFoundryTM (Digital Assets & Tokenisation) at BNP Paribas CIB, commented: “BNP Paribas’ AssetFoundryTM platform delivers key digital-assets capabilities, from tokenisation to network connectivity and wallet-related functionalities within a controlled setup. This initiative allows us to better understand the operational and governance implications of tokenisation for money market funds.”
Paul Daly, Head of Distribution Product Solutions at BNP Paribas’ Securities Services business, added: “BNP Paribas’ Securities Services business transforms innovation into tangible value for our clients. By acting as transfer agent and leveraging the Group’s tokenisation infrastructure, we deliver a streamlined and secure operational setup that supports fund processes enabled by public blockchain infrastructure, within a regulated and permissioned context.”
The tokenised money market fund sector has seen increased activity from traditional asset managers. BlackRock launched its USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund in 2024, and Franklin Templeton has also made its government money market fund available across multiple blockchain networks
Source: ETFWorld.co.uk
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
