Calastone unlocks blockchain capabilities with tokenisation solution

Global funds network, Calastone, has launched a new fund tokenisation capability that enables asset managers to distribute their products across “blockchain-based channels”.

The “simple and frictionless” solution is available to the 4,500 managers across 56 markets whose funds are operating on Calastone’s existing “network”, and requires no structural or administration changes to be made to the funds in order for them to be distributed in tokenised form.

Adam Belding, Chief Technology Officer at Calastone, said the solution offers asset managers the opportunity to tap into a cohort of investors who operate “exclusively within blockchain ecosystems”.

“Calastone Tokenised Distribution offers asset managers a powerful new route to market,” he said.

“We make it possible to distribute existing funds via blockchain networks, instantly and at scale. without any operational upheaval or technical reinvention.”

According to the fund network, the Calastone Tokenised Distribution service “converts eligible fund shares into smart contract-powered tokens embedded directly onto blockchain networks. These tokens reflect the fund’s full detail, operate with built-in security protocols, and automatically mint and burn in line with real-time subscriptions and redemptions”.

Calastone said the solution would help traditional investment managers access a previously untapped market of investors who primarily operate on blockchain networks such as Ethereum, Polygon and Canton, including:

• Corporate treasurers managing substantial on-chain cash balances for yield and efficiency;
• Stablecoin issuers and institutional crypto firms seeking regulated investment options without the need to convert into fiat currencies; and
• Crypto-experienced retail and wealth investors who want access to traditional assets via the same wallets and digital infrastructure they use for digital assets.

The solution’s release comes in the wake of a recent study conducted by Calastone that found tokenisation could save the asset management industry over $135 billion annually, as well as expanding the scope of fund launches and reducing seed capital requirements.

“The investment world is changing fast,” Julien Hammerson, CEO of Calastone, said.

“New pools of capital are forming on blockchain networks, and they are not being accessed through traditional channels.

“Our Tokenised Distribution solution gives asset managers instant reach into these markets, without the requirement or need for transformation. We are making it easy to evolve with the market.”