Amundi launches UCITS tokenized fund on Solana: On-chain RWA strategy of the €2.4 trillion asset management giant

In May 2026, a piece of news from Europe's largest asset management firm, Amundi, sent ripples through both the crypto and traditional finance worlds: with a management scale of up to €2.4 trillion, it has now decided to launch its first fully UCITS-compliant tokenized fund on the Solana blockchain. This is not a marginal experiment nor a PR stunt. The fund is named Spiko Amundi Overnight Swap Fund, abbreviated as SAFO, based on the regulated tokenized sub-fund structure of SPIKO SICAV, directly overseen by the French Financial Markets Authority. From the compliance framework of traditional finance to the underlying settlement on high-performance blockchain, Amundi’s choice offers a verifiable answer to the proposition of “Institutional DeFi.”

What is the SAFO Fund?

SAFO is a tokenized money market fund aimed at professional investors and institutional clients, with a straightforward investment strategy: operating through total return swap contracts fully collateralized by primary banks, with the current primary counterparty being BNP Paribas. The fund accepts subscriptions and redemptions in four fiat currencies—euro, USD, GBP, and CHF—with a minimum investment threshold of one unit per currency category.

But its true uniqueness lies in the overlay of legal structure and on-chain hosting. SAFO is a transferable security collective investment scheme product under the UCITS framework. This means that once registered in any EU member state, it can be distributed cross-border throughout the EU via passporting, without the need for country-by-country applications. For European institutional funds that have long viewed compliance costs as a barrier to on-chain participation, this structure breaks a key barrier. As one of the most widely recognized fund compliance frameworks globally, UCITS’ spillover effects may extend to markets in Asia, the Middle East, and beyond, referencing UCITS standards.

In terms of architecture division of labor, Amundi handles investment management and asset allocation, while Spiko Finance acts as transfer agent, tokenization platform, and broker. The custodian under Amundi, CACEIS, is responsible for safekeeping and fund administration. On-chain data publication, including the calculation and updating of net asset value (NAV), is performed via Chainlink’s decentralized oracle network, providing investors with verifiable on-chain NAV information.

This marks SAFO’s eighth deployment on the Solana chain. Previously, the fund had been deployed on Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, Starknet, Stellar, and Etherlink. As of March 2026, the fund had accumulated approximately $100 million in committed assets across these seven chains.

Accelerating Institutional On-Chain Migration

Looking back over a longer timeline, a clear evolution path emerges.

Second half of 2025: Laying the compliance infrastructure. In October 2025, the US spot ETF for Solana was officially approved, opening a compliant channel for traditional brokerages to gain exposure to Solana. Around the same time, RedStone launched a dedicated RWA oracle on Solana for tokenized government bonds and credit products, laying middleware for traditional financial assets to access Solana DeFi protocols.

First quarter of 2026: Institutional capital influx. In February 2026, BlackRock’s tokenized money market fund BUIDL grew to $525.4 million on Solana, becoming the largest RWA asset on the chain. In March, Franklin Templeton and Ondo Finance formed a strategic partnership, launching tokenized versions of five ETFs via Ondo Global Markets on Solana—marking the first time this asset manager, managing about $1.7 trillion, introduced its funds into the Solana network. That same month, Plume Network expanded its Nest protocol to Solana, integrating Perena platform to provide institutional-grade RWA yield vaults for Solana users. Also in March, the US SEC and CFTC classified SOL as a digital commodity, paving the way for spot ETFs and institutional derivatives.

April 2026: Milestones in the ecosystem. The number of Solana SPL token holder addresses surpassed 167 million, with on-chain tokenized assets exceeding $2.5 billion. South Korea’s largest credit card issuer, Shinhan Card, signed an MOU with Solana Foundation to explore stablecoin payment solutions; SoFi announced plans to build enterprise-grade fiat and stablecoin banking services on Solana.

May 2026: Amundi’s official landing. On May 15, CEO Paul-Adrien Hyppolite announced at the “House of Sol” event in London that SAFO would migrate to Solana. On May 22, the fund officially launched on Solana, becoming the first UCITS-compliant tokenized fund in the Solana ecosystem.

Multi-Dimensional Perspective on the Tokenized RWA Market

Market size and growth rate

The tokenized real-world asset market continues to expand. As of May 2026, total tokenized assets reached $34.01 billion, with tokenized US Treasury products nearing $16 billion. The RWA market cap on Solana grew 43% quarter-over-quarter in Q1 2026, reaching $2.01 billion. Meanwhile, RWA lending deposits surged 115% to $1.23 billion in the same period. Notably, this growth occurred amid a 30-35% decline in Solana’s token prices, indicating that the expansion is driven by the intrinsic value of assets rather than token price speculation.

Indicators of ecosystem health

Multiple data points reveal structural expansion in Solana’s RWA ecosystem, quantifiable as follows:

| Core Metric | Data | Reference Time | | --- | --- | --- | | Number of Solana RWA holders (SPL token addresses) | 167 million (record high) | April 2026 | | Total on-chain tokenized assets (Solana) | Over $2.5 billion | April 2026 | | BlackRock BUIDL on Solana | $525.4 million | May 2026 | | Solana stablecoin market cap | $14.85 billion | End of Q1 2026 | | Total net inflow into Solana ETFs (since listing) | $1.45 billion | As of May 2026 | | Approximate institutional holdings of Solana ETFs | ~$24k | Q4 2025 |

These figures, derived from publicly accessible on-chain analysis and institutional reports, reflect the multi-dimensional growth of Solana’s RWA ecosystem.

Technical adaptability making Solana the preferred chain for RWA

Amundi’s choice of Solana over other blockchains is driven by four key technical considerations:

1. Settlement efficiency. As a money market fund involving frequent subscriptions, redemptions, and NAV updates, it demands rapid settlement. Solana’s high throughput enables real-time on-chain execution, avoiding reliance on traditional T+1 or T+2 cycles.

2. Cost structure. Traditional fund operations incur backend costs per transfer, redemption, and NAV publication. For on-chain tokenization to be economically viable, on-chain operation costs must be significantly lower than traditional clearing costs. Solana’s low transaction fees align with this requirement.

3. Asset programmability. On-chain RWA’s value lies not only in issuance but also in subsequent financial operations. The $1.23 billion in RWA lending deposits on Solana in Q1 2026, surpassing Ethereum’s $1.13 billion, indicates active deployment of tokenized assets into DeFi protocols rather than static holdings.

4. Upcoming performance leap. Solana is testing a consensus upgrade called Alpenglow, expected to reduce finality time from approximately 12.8 seconds to around 100-150 milliseconds. If implemented as planned, this will further enhance Solana’s settlement speed advantage.

Objectively assessing technical limitations

It’s important to note that Solana’s rapid RWA expansion comes with costs. Ethereum still dominates in total RWA TVL, with approximately $12.8 billion, and its stablecoin supply exceeds $163.3 billion. Major institutional projects like BlackRock’s BUIDL and JPMorgan’s Onyx are built on Ethereum, creating a deep moat for Ethereum as the “preferred layer for institutional asset onboarding.” Solana’s growth in RWA mainly represents incremental market development and high-turnover scenarios, not a complete substitution of Ethereum’s existing market share.

Multi-Dimensional Market Interpretation of Amundi’s Decision

The market has developed several interpretations regarding Amundi’s deployment of a UCITS tokenized fund on Solana:

Compliance breakthrough. Many see UCITS as the core value. The “passporting” system allows rapid distribution across the EU, greatly reducing cross-border compliance costs. Compared to the fragmented regulation faced by previous crypto asset management products, SAFO provides a reusable compliance template for European institutional on-chain participation.

Institutional validation. It’s viewed as a major endorsement of Solana’s infrastructure for institutions. Managing €2.4 trillion, Amundi’s choice sets a benchmark. Before Amundi, firms like Franklin Templeton, State Street, and Galaxy had already deployed tokenized funds on Solana, indicating a trend of institutional adoption.

Signal differentiation. While about 30 institutions had purchased around $17k worth of Solana ETFs in Q4 2025, SOL token prices still declined 30-35% in Q1 2026. This “asset-side institutional accumulation versus token-side price pressure” divergence reflects different risk preferences: some institutions prioritize on-chain fund assets, others focus on token holdings.

Path divergence. There are two long-standing views on how institutions should enter crypto: one advocates indirect exposure via ETFs and traditional instruments; the other favors native on-chain deployment of assets and operations. Amundi’s choice to deploy a regulated fund directly on Solana, rather than buying SOL tokens or Solana ETFs, could influence future institutional paradigms.

Narrative upgrade. A May 2026 report by Messari states that Solana is gradually shedding its “meme coin paradise” label, shifting toward a platform for institutional settlement and tokenized finance. Amundi’s move is seen as a key piece of this narrative evolution.

Industry Impact: Four Dimensions of Structural Change

First, the paradigm shift in chain selection for institutional RWA deployment. Previously, large traditional finance institutions favored Ethereum or enterprise private chains. Amundi’s choice may prompt others to prioritize throughput, settlement speed, and cost efficiency over existing regulatory infrastructure and partner networks.

Second, deep integration of UCITS with public chains. SAFO demonstrates that UCITS regulation and public chain tokenization are compatible. This provides a replicable model for other European asset management products seeking on-chain deployment. If regulators continue to endorse this approach, more such funds could emerge within 12-18 months.

Third, reshaping the competitive landscape of the RWA ecosystem. Ethereum maintains an advantage with its deep liquidity in stablecoins (over $163.3 billion) and a robust institutional project network. Solana, with high turnover and rapid growth in RWA lending (Q1 surpassing Ethereum’s $1.13 billion), is carving a path characterized by “active capital deployment.” The outcome will depend on institutional priorities between “asset custody security” and “asset utilization efficiency.”

Fourth, the shift of institutional DeFi from fringe to core. 2026 is seen as a pivotal year where blockchain transitions from retail speculation to a “structural bet on financial settlement infrastructure.” Amundi’s entry is a clear signal of this shift. As trillion-dollar asset managers deploy regulated funds directly on public chains, “Institutional DeFi” ceases to be just an internal narrative and becomes a real component of traditional financial balance sheets.

Conclusion: A Turning Point, Not an End

Amundi’s launch of a UCITS-compliant tokenized fund on Solana marks a key milestone in moving institutional DeFi from concept to actual balance sheet deployment. Its significance lies in the fact that a top-tier global asset manager is deploying a highly regulated traditional fund product natively on a public chain, rather than indirectly via ETFs. This signals a new paradigm, more convincing than any industry report.

Yet, caution remains essential. One deployment does not equal victory. SAFO’s current AUM of about $100 million is small relative to Amundi’s €2.4 trillion total assets and the roughly $2 billion RWA market on Solana. More critically, Ethereum’s established lead in institutional asset tokenization and its deep compliant network set a high threshold for Solana’s catch-up. Ultimately, Amundi’s decision provides an observable sample: when traditional finance truly steps onto public chains, what will their technical standards, compliance architecture, and asset utilization look like? The value of this sample exceeds fleeting news—it offers a bridge from “discussing possibilities” to “testing feasibility” for the entire industry.