Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager, is moving deeper into tokenized finance with a new on‑chain cash product. The firm and French tokenization specialist Spiko have launched the Spiko Amundi Overnight Swap Fund (SAFO), a tokenized sub‑fund of SPIKO SICAV deployed on both Ethereum and Stellar, backed by roughly $100 million in committed assets.
What SAFO is
- A traditional, low‑risk cash management fund wrapped as a tokenized product, designed for corporate treasuries and collateral management—an “on‑chain cash parking” solution with overnight liquidity.
- It invests via fully collateralized total return swaps with top‑tier banks, aiming to deliver stable yields slightly above risk‑free rates while preserving same‑day access to capital.
- Supports multiple currencies (EUR, USD, GBP, CHF) and unusually low minimum subscriptions for an institutional cash product: 1 unit.
Why two blockchains?
- Ethereum hosts the shareholder register and smart contracts, chosen for DeFi composability and integration with the broader smart‑contract ecosystem.
- Stellar is used for faster, lower‑cost transfers and 24/7 unit transferability.
- Chainlink provides on‑chain fund pricing and acts as the bridge between Ethereum, Stellar, and legacy systems—leveraging its oracle network and prior institutional tests (including pilots with DTCC).
Operational features
- Near‑immediate settlement, live visibility into the shareholder register, global 24/7 transferability of shares, and automated access via APIs or smart contracts.
A quoted view
Jean‑Jacques Barbéris, Amundi’s Head of Institutional and Corporate Clients, and ESG, said: “SAFO provides professional investors with a fast and transparent access to cash management solutions. This initiative is part of our ambition to contribute to the rise of tokenized solutions.”
Context and significance
- SAFO is Amundi’s second tokenized fund in recent months; in November the asset manager tokenized a share class of a money‑market fund on Ethereum with CACEIS.
- The launch joins a broader trend of major asset managers (including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton) rolling out tokenized money‑market and RWA products, reinforcing Ethereum’s role as the default settlement layer for institutional tokenized assets.
- For an incumbent with €2.3 trillion AUM to embrace multi‑chain issuance and Chainlink oracles, the move strengthens the narrative that the next phase of crypto adoption may be driven by tokenized cash, bonds and funds—financial plumbing rather than pure DeFi speculation.
Chainlink amplified the news via its March 19, 2026 tweet highlighting its role in powering the issuance and distribution of tokenized funds.
Bottom line: SAFO is a pragmatic step toward mainstreaming tokenized institutional cash management—combining familiar fund economics with blockchain settlement, faster settlement rails, and oracle‑backed on‑chain transparency.
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