Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager by assets under management, has quietly taken a decisive step into onchain finance by launching the Spiko Amundi Overnight Swap Fund (SAFO), a tokenized cash-equivalent fund with roughly €100 million (about $100 million) in committed assets. The fund is designed to move at blockchain speed while behaving like a traditional safe haven.
SAFO Fund Overview
Structured under the French-regulated SPIKO SICAV framework, SAFO targets professional and institutional investors seeking a cash-equivalent product that provides overnight liquidity and yields aiming to exceed risk-free benchmarks through fully collateralized total return swaps with major banking counterparties. Unlike traditional money market funds, the shareholder register exists natively onchain across both Ethereum and Stellar, enabling continuous, 24/7 transferability of fund shares without the typical constraints of market hours or settlement delays.
Dual-Chain Architecture and Chainlink Integration
The dual-chain setup is intentional: Ethereum handles smart contract functionality and compatibility with decentralized finance (DeFi), while Stellar provides faster and lower-cost transaction rails, giving institutional users flexibility depending on their operational needs. Infrastructure for pricing and cross-chain coordination is powered by Chainlink, which supplies automated onchain net asset value (NAV) reporting and helps synchronize data between networks—an increasingly critical component as tokenized funds expand across multiple blockchains.
The launch builds on Amundi’s earlier experiment with tokenized share classes in November 2025, but SAFO represents a more ambitious iteration—a purpose-built, multi-chain fund engineered for programmability and real-time settlement rather than a simple digital wrapper of an existing product. Operationally, subscriptions and redemptions are available in major currencies including euro, U.S. dollar, British pound, and Swiss franc, with entry thresholds as low as one unit, a nod to accessibility even within a product aimed at institutional participants.
Institutional Access and Compliance
The broader pitch is straightforward: eliminate friction. Investors gain near-instant settlement, real-time visibility into ownership, and the ability to transfer shares globally at any hour—features that traditional fund infrastructure, with its reliance on cut-off times and batch processing, has long struggled to match. Jean-Jacques Barbéris, head of institutional and corporate clients and ESG at Amundi, framed the move as part of a larger strategic direction. “SAFO provides professional investors with a fast and transparent access to cash management solutions. This initiative is part of our ambition to contribute to the rise of tokenized solutions,” he said.
Behind the scenes, the structure relies on a familiar cast of financial plumbing. Spiko acts as transfer agent and tokenization platform, while CACEIS serves as depositary and administrator, ensuring the fund remains anchored in traditional financial safeguards even as its rails shift onchain. The timing is hardly accidental. Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), particularly money market and treasury-linked products, have gained traction across 2025 and into 2026, with institutions increasingly experimenting with blockchain rails that promise efficiency without discarding regulatory compliance.
Industry Significance and Risk Considerations
SAFO slots neatly into that narrative, offering a bridge between legacy finance and programmable assets—something that could eventually extend beyond treasury management into collateral use cases or integration with DeFi protocols. Of course, the model is not without its caveats. Smart contract risks, evolving custody standards, and jurisdictional nuances remain part of the equation, though the fund’s regulated European structure and reliance on established financial partners aim to soften those edges. Still, the direction is clear: tokenization is no longer a pilot project. With a $100 million opening act and infrastructure designed for scale, Amundi is signaling that the next iteration of cash management may look less like a bank ledger and more like a blockchain transaction—settled before most desks have finished their morning coffee.