Europe’s Largest Asset Manager, Amundi Tokenizes €5B on Ethereum

What To Know:

Amundi, one of Europe’s largest asset managers, expanded its digital finance strategy by tokenizing a €5 billion money market fund on Ethereum. The fund, AMUNDI FUNDS CASH EUR, became available in a traditional structure and as tokenized units recorded directly on the blockchain. The move positioned Amundi among the major European firms exploring the shift of regulated financial products into on-chain formats.

Amundi Taps on Ethereum for Tokenizing Funds

The company said the launch reflected a broader institutional trend toward blockchain-based fund infrastructure. In a statement, Jean-Jacques Barbéris said the initiative showed Amundi’s intention to continue developing tokenized products for clients in France and internationally. The firm framed the project as an expansion of distribution channels, giving investors access to blockchain-based units without altering the conservative, liquid nature of money market funds.

CACEIS, the fund services provider owned by Crédit Agricole and Santander, supplied the technology stack. The company is one of Europe’s most active digital asset custodians and transfer agents. It took responsibility for issuing tokenized fund units, managing investor portfolios, and enabling subscriptions and redemptions. CACEIS said transactions would eventually be supported through stablecoins and central-bank digital currencies, with round-the-clock settlement windows.

The launch followed rapid growth in the tokenized money market fund sector. Market value reached roughly $9 billion in 2025, a sharp rise from the previous year. The expansion prompted warnings from the Bank for International Settlements, which urged regulators to monitor the operational and liquidity implications of moving traditional products onto public blockchains.

Tokenized funds remained largely restricted to selected institutional clients. They were held as liquid collateral in issuance functions of stablecoins and not available for normal retail trading. Several institutions did not allow these tokens to spread on unvetted protocols. Even so, proponents pointed to the growing number of blockchain-based tools as evidence of greater interoperability between legacy capital markets and public networks. The global money market fund space also dwarfed the tokenized space, with more than $7 trillion in total assets. Only a tiny amount had been moved on-chain, but regulators in Europe and the United States kept a close watch. Authorities argued that even minor inflows could influence risk models, custody frameworks, and compliance expectations across the financial system.

Ethereum continued to lead the tokenization market. Its long-standing developer ecosystem and security profile made it a favored chain for regulated assets. Tokenized holdings across all categories reached more than $36 billion, excluding stablecoins. Ethereum accounted for nearly $12 billion of that value, driven by private credit instruments and a growing number of institutional products.

Activity surged in 2025, supported by inflows from several U.S. money market funds that adopted blockchain settlement routes. At the time of the Amundi launch, Ethereum hosted 303 tokenized assets. Arbitrum, the Ethereum Layer 2 network, carried another 129. BNB Chain grew rapidly as well, recording more than 112 percent growth in tokenized instruments over the past month. Solana held 88 tokenized assets and posted more than 14 percent growth.

The expansion of regulated tokenized instruments emerged alongside renewed interest in Ethereum’s market performance. The asset traded at $3,038.33, recovering after a turbulent period marked by liquidity pressure and shifts in institutional positioning. Analysts said global investors, including sovereign entities such as Bhutan, increased exposure as blockchain-based financial infrastructure gained momentum.

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