Aviva and Ripple put £22bn sterling fund on XRP Ledger

Aviva Investors and Ripple have launched a tokenized share class of Aviva’s £22 billion Sterling Liquidity Fund on the XRP Ledger, bringing a digital version of fund holdings onto a public blockchain. Aviva says it invested £50 million in the new share class. The launch expands the asset manager’s use of blockchain for existing funds, according to Aviva Investors’ announcement.

What does the tokenized share class represent?

It gives eligible investors with digital wallets a way to hold shares in the fund in tokenized form. A token is a digital record on a blockchain. Aviva describes its setup as a “digital twin”: holdings are represented on-chain while the fund continues to operate off-chain under its existing structure.

The fund is an Ireland-domiciled money market fund, a type of fund that invests in short-term debt. Aviva says it targets low-risk returns and daily liquidity by investing in high-grade, sterling-denominated debt. The tokenized class has the same investment objective, risk profile, liquidity features and regulatory protections as the conventional fund, the firm says.

How much money is in the new share class?

The £22 billion figure is the fund’s total assets under management, not the amount invested in its tokenized class. Aviva says it put £50 million into the new class. Across this and its tokenized US dollar fund, launched in July, the firm reports more than £86 million invested.

That distinction matters: the announcement gives Aviva’s investment, but does not state how much other investors have put into the sterling tokenized class. The Block’s report on the launch also notes that the fund holds high-grade, short-term sterling debt and offers daily access to money.

Who holds the fund’s assets?

The Bank of New York Mellon remains the fund’s custodian, which means it holds the fund’s assets. Aviva says Komainu supported the launch as digital-asset custodian, while Licuido provided tokenization infrastructure. The new share class is available to eligible investors with digital wallets.

The launch follows Aviva’s first tokenized fund share class, for its US dollar liquidity fund. Both offerings use the XRP Ledger, Ripple’s public blockchain. The latest step puts one of Aviva’s existing sterling funds on-chain while keeping the fund itself within its current structure.

Sources

• Aviva Investors’ announcement — avivainvestors.com
• report on the launch — theblock.co