TLDR
- BNY is launching a blockchain-based version of its transfer agency business.
- The business services about $8.6T in assets across 7.6M accounts.
- BNY manages more than $59T in assets under custody and administration.
- Baillie Gifford will use the service for a UK-regulated tokenized fund.
- BlackRock and Dreyfus are expected to use the platform for planned funds.
BNY is moving part of its transfer agency record-keeping onto blockchain as Wall Street builds infrastructure for tokenized funds. The bank plans to keep its existing systems while adding a digital ownership record for fund transactions.
BNY Moves Transfer Agency Records Onchain
BNY, the world’s largest custodian, is launching a blockchain-based version of its transfer agency business. The business services about $8.6 trillion in assets across 7.6 million accounts.
The bank manages more than $59 trillion in assets under custody and administration. Its transfer agency work supports fund ownership records, investor accounts, and transaction processing across asset management products.
Carolyn Weinberg, BNY’s chief product and innovation officer, said the bank is updating a function that sits behind fund transactions. She said BNY is bringing “the books and records onchain.”
The system is designed to create a single ownership ledger for tokenized funds. BNY said this could reduce the need for repeated reconciliation across intermediaries involved in fund administration.
Tokenized Fund Platform Starts With Major Clients
Baillie Gifford, which manages more than $261 billion, will use the service for what the companies describe as the first fully native U.K.-regulated tokenized fund. The launch places the asset manager among the first clients using BNY’s blockchain transfer agency model.
BlackRock and Dreyfus, BNY’s money-market and cash-management business, are also expected to use the platform for planned funds. The rollout comes as asset managers expand tokenized money-market funds and other onchain fund products.
Tokenized funds usually hold traditional assets such as cash or short-term debt. Ownership interests are issued as blockchain tokens, giving investors a digital record tied to the underlying fund.
BNY does not expect traditional systems to disappear soon. Emily Portney, BNY’s global head of asset servicing, said “trillions and trillions of dollars” of funds will continue to run on traditional rails.
The bank’s model adds blockchain record-keeping without removing existing infrastructure. That approach allows BNY to support tokenized fund growth while maintaining services for conventional fund products.
Wall Street Builds Blockchain Market Infrastructure
The BNY launch comes as major financial firms increase work on tokenized assets and blockchain settlement. BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and other asset managers have already launched tokenized money-market funds.
Some large U.S. banks are also exploring tokenized deposit networks. JPMorgan, Citi, and Bank of America are planning shared infrastructure that could support tokenized deposits by the first half of 2027.
Tokenization platform Brickken CEO Edwin Mata has estimated that Wall Street could run fully on blockchain technology by 2030. That remains a forecast, while major banks are still building systems that connect onchain records with existing financial rails.
BNY’s blockchain move follows other corporate updates from the bank. The firm released second-quarter 2026 financial results, announced plans to raise its quarterly common stock dividend by 19% to $0.63 per share, and priced a $500 million public offering of depositary shares tied to preferred stock.
The bank also appointed a former JPMorgan executive as Americas Head of Banks, Broker-Dealers, and Insurers within asset servicing. Company leadership has also said nearly all BNY employees have been trained to use AI tools in daily workflows.
BNY’s blockchain transfer agency system places tokenized fund records inside one of the largest custody networks in global finance. The bank is keeping traditional systems in place while testing digital ownership records for the next phase of fund administration.
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