BNP Paribas Asset Management, part of BNP Paribas (EPA: BNP), has issued a tokenized share class of an existing French-domiciled money market fund, registering the assets directly on public blockchain infrastructure. Announced on 20 February 2026, the pilot represents a notable advancement in the bank’s ongoing exploration of tokenisation technologies, shifting from private ledgers to the more widely adopted public Ethereum network.
The project employs a carefully controlled permissioned-access model on Ethereum.
Only pre-approved, regulated participants can hold or transfer the tokenized shares, ensuring full compliance with existing financial regulations while harnessing the transparency, security, and scalability associated with public blockchains.
This setup maintains the strict governance standards and investor protections that money market funds require.
Conducted entirely as an intra-group experiment, the initiative brought together multiple BNP Paribas business lines to simulate real-world end-to-end fund operations.
BNP Paribas Asset Management served as the fund issuer, while the Securities Services division acted as transfer agent and fund dealing services provider.
It also managed wallet infrastructure and safeguarded the private keys.
Meanwhile, BNP Paribas CIB’s AssetFoundry platform handled the tokenisation process and provided the secure connectivity layer to the public Ethereum network.
This latest effort builds directly on an earlier tokenised money market fund issuance in Luxembourg that used a private blockchain.
By testing both private and public infrastructures, BNP Paribas is systematically evaluating different technological and operational models to identify the most effective ways to serve fund managers and institutional investors in the future.
Industry observers note that tokenisation could transform liquidity management, particularly for money market funds that serve as critical cash-management tools for corporations and institutions.
Traditional batch-processing cycles could eventually give way to more frequent, flexible, and near-real-time operations without compromising the funds’ regulated status.
The public blockchain approach also offers potential improvements in operational efficiency, auditability, and overall security within a permissioned environment.
Edouard Legrand, Chief Digital and Data Officer at BNP Paribas Asset Management, emphasised the client-focused motivation behind the project: “BNP Paribas Asset Management is committed to driving innovation that will ultimately benefit our clients.
This second issuance of tokenised money market funds, this time using public blockchain infrastructure, supports our ongoing efforts to explore how tokenisation can contribute to greater operational efficiency and security within a regulated framework.”
Julien Clausse, Head of AssetFoundry at BNP Paribas CIB, highlighted the platform’s role:
“BNP Paribas’ AssetFoundry platform delivers key digital-assets capabilities, from tokenisation to network connectivity and wallet-related functionalities within a controlled setup. This initiative allows us to better understand the operational and governance implications of tokenisation for money market funds.”
Paul Daly, Head of Distribution Product Solutions at BNP Paribas Securities Services, added:
“BNP Paribas’ Securities Services business transforms innovation into tangible value for our clients. By acting as transfer agent and leveraging the Group’s tokenisation infrastructure, we deliver a streamlined and secure operational setup that supports fund processes enabled by public blockchain infrastructure, within a regulated and permissioned context.”
The pilot remains a limited, one-off intra-group exercise designed to gather operational insights rather than launch a commercial product.
Nevertheless, it signals BNP Paribas’ determination to stay at the forefront of digital asset adoption while prioritizing regulatory compliance and investor protection. As tokenization matures across the financial sector, experiments like this will help shape the infrastructure that could redefine how investment funds are issued, distributed, and managed in the coming years.