BNY Mellon announced that it will serve as the investment manager for DigiFT’s new U.S. Equity Income Fund, the first actively managed tokenized U.S. equity income fund on the Ethereum public blockchain. The fund targets accredited investors and applies BNY’s traditional U.S. equity income strategy to a tokenized structure, enabling programmable settlement and enhanced transparency while preserving the governance framework of the underlying strategy.
Tokenization offers several operational advantages. Programmable settlement reduces counterparty risk and accelerates the finality of trades, while the on‑chain ledger provides real‑time auditability of holdings and cash flows. By keeping the same governance structure as the traditional fund, BNY Mellon signals that the on‑chain product will adhere to the same risk controls and compliance standards that institutional investors expect from its off‑chain offerings.
The launch aligns with BNY Mellon’s broader strategy to expand its digital‑asset custody and investment‑management services. By capturing fee income from a new class of on‑chain products, the bank can deepen relationships with institutional clients seeking tokenized exposure to U.S. equities. The move also positions BNY Mellon alongside peers such as Citigroup, which is expanding its own digital‑asset services, and follows the New York Stock Exchange’s development of a 24/7 tokenized securities platform, underscoring a broader industry shift toward on‑chain settlement.
Henry Zhang, Founder and Group CEO of DigiFT, said the launch “proves the use case of tokenization.” He added that bringing an actively managed equity income strategy on‑chain within a regulated market demonstrates how blockchain infrastructure is becoming part of mainstream institutional finance. Doni Shamsuddin, Head of Asia Pacific at BNY Investments, emphasized the partnership’s value: “We are thrilled to work with DigiFT in bridging traditional finance and emerging on‑chain solutions for institutional investors. Leveraging BNY’s deep investment capabilities, we enable a professionally managed portfolio on blockchain—anchored in established trust, scale, and governance.”
DigiFT is a regulated on‑chain exchange licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, giving the fund a robust regulatory foundation. The launch also highlights potential headwinds, such as evolving regulatory clarity and competition from other tokenized securities platforms, but the partnership’s regulatory compliance and BNY Mellon’s established custody infrastructure mitigate these risks.
The fund’s introduction marks a milestone in the tokenization space, moving beyond single‑asset tokenization to complex, professionally managed strategies. It signals that institutional investors are ready to adopt on‑chain products that combine the efficiency of blockchain with the rigor of traditional asset management, potentially paving the way for a broader suite of tokenized investment offerings in the coming years.
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