Baillie Gifford, the Edinburgh-based investment firm, has launched a tokenized corporate bond fund natively on Solana and Ethereum, making it the first publicly available, fully native UK-regulated tokenized fund issued on public blockchains.
The fund, called the Baillie Gifford Enhanced Yield Fund with ticker $BAGEY, targets roughly 7% annual yield through active fixed-income management, CoinDesk reported Monday. BNY provides the tokenization and wallet infrastructure. Baillie Gifford's digital-assets unit BGDA announced the launch describing it as “an actively managed bond fund, issued natively onchain, with the blockchain as the legal source of truth.” Fund size at launch has not been disclosed publicly.
Native, Not Wrapped
Most tokenized funds operate through a wrapper structure: investors hold a tokenized receipt representing a claim on a fund whose ownership records remain off-chain in a traditional registrar. BAGEY uses a different architecture. The token itself is the legal holding. Subscriptions and redemptions settle in $USDC directly against the chain. Solana's official account confirmed the design: “Not a wrapper. The blockchain is the register of record.”
That structure has practical implications for institutional custody and settlement. Removing the transfer-agent intermediary layer means ownership transfers settle at blockchain speed, with $USDC clearing replacing traditional T+2 processes.
BNY's Infrastructure Role
BNY, the world's largest custodian by assets under custody, handles Solana and Ethereum wallet infrastructure, tokenization mechanics, and regulatory integration with the UK's Financial Conduct Authority-regulated fund structure. The bank has been expanding its digital-asset custody footprint across multiple chains.
The dual-chain deployment addresses distinct investor segments. Solana's lower transaction costs suit smaller institutional and retail subscribers. Ethereum's existing institutional DeFi integrations suit larger allocators already operating on that chain.
Tradfi Tokenization Push
The launch lands as major traditional asset managers accelerate their tokenized-asset programs. Franklin Templeton acquired 250 Digital earlier this month to deepen its institutional push. Citi recently launched tokenized private company shares for wealth and institutional clients. NYSE parent ICE and OKX announced a 50-50 joint venture for tokenized equities this week.
BAGEY is Baillie Gifford's first publicly available tokenized product. The fund is open to subscriptions via $USDC on both chains per Solana's confirmation of the launch. Baillie Gifford has made no public statement on the longer-term roadmap for additional tokenized products.