BNY, one of the world\u2019s largest custodian banks, is taking a major step toward blockchain-based financial infrastructure by moving fund ownership records onchain.<\/p>\n
The New York-based institution will launch a blockchain-based version of its transfer agency business, which manages fund ownership records and investor transactions, the Financial Times reported<\/a> Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think of BNY as modernizing a function that sits behind every single fund transaction by bringing the books and records on-chain,\u201d Carolyn Weinberg, BNY\u2019s chief product and innovation officer, reportedly said.<\/p>\n The move follows BNY\u2019s broader digital asset expansion, including its European regulatory progress<\/a> under the EU\u2019s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, as the bank positions itself for the next phase of institutional blockchain adoption.<\/p>\n Transfer agents are financial service providers that maintain official records of who owns shares in investment funds. They handle tasks such as processing investor transactions, issuing and redeeming fund shares, updating ownership records and supporting communication between funds and investors.<\/p>\n These records form part of the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that allows investment funds to operate. Traditionally, ownership information is stored across multiple systems used by fund managers, custodians and other market participants, requiring frequent reconciliation.<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>USDC issuer Circle to acquire nearly 1,000 IBM blockchain patents<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n According to the report, BNY\u2019s transfer agent services cover roughly $8.6 trillion in assets across 7.6 million accounts. The company, which oversees more than $59 trillion in assets under custody and administration, will reportedly maintain its traditional transfer agency operations alongside the new digital platform.<\/p>\n By moving transfer agency records onchain, BNY aims to create a shared source of information for market participants, reducing reliance on separate databases and manual reconciliation processes.<\/p>\n Early users of BNY\u2019s digital transfer agency reportedly include Edinburgh, Scotland-based asset manager Baillie Gifford, which plans to use the platform for what it described as the first \u201cfully native\u201d United Kingdom-regulated tokenized fund. BlackRock and BNY Dreyfus money market fund and cash management business are also expected to use the service for upcoming tokenized funds.<\/p>\n The firm has roughly $261 billion in assets under management, according to its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>Hong Kong prepares banks for quantum threats amid tokenization push<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhat we have in the blockchain is a shared source of record-keeping between the participants,\u201d Theo Golden, Baillie Gifford\u2019s head of digital assets, said. \u201cWe agree that this is the source of truth when people are dealing with the asset that this is monitoring,\u201d the executive said.<\/p>\n BNY has not disclosed which blockchain network will support the new platform. Cointelegraph approached the company for comment regarding the report but did not receive a response by the time of publication.<\/p>\n Magazine: <\/strong><\/em>The 5 types of real world assets being tokenized fastest onchain<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\nWhat are transfer agency records?<\/h2>\n
Baillie Gifford among early users for tokenized funds<\/h2>\n