BNY plans to link transfer agent records to accelerate blockchain layout

BNY, one of the world's largest custodian banks, plans to move fund transfer agent records to the blockchain.

BNY, one of the world's largest custodian banks, is preparing to move the transfer agent record retention function, the core link of the fund infrastructure, to the blockchain. The bank plans to launch a blockchain-based version of its transfer agency business to maintain fund ownership records and handle investor activity, a move that aims to reduce the reconciliations that typically accompany fund transactions.

According to relevant reports, this move by BNY will migrate the "books and records" function of supporting investment fund transactions to the chain and achieve modernization upgrades. This progress is based on BNY's continued entry into the digital asset field and closely follows its progress in Europe under the EU's crypto asset market regulatory framework, indicating that the bank is laying out for the next phase of institutional tokenization.

Core Points

BNY will launch a blockchain-based transfer agency platform to record fund ownership and track investor transactions on the chain. Transfer agents perform key "book and record" functions for funds and have traditionally relied on multiple databases and required frequent reconciliations. Early reported users include Baillie Gifford, and BlackRock and BNY Dreyfus related businesses are expected to provide support for future tokenized funds launched by the service. According to reports, BNY plans to continue to operate its traditional transfer agency business while providing new digital services. The platform's blockchain network has not yet been disclosed, and this key implementation details remain unclear.

Why transfer agent records are important

Transfer agency services are the operational pillar behind fund ownership. The transfer agency maintains official records of investment fund shareholders and handles ownership updates, subscription and redemption operations, and communication between the fund and investors. Although these jobs are not conspicuous to most investors, they are the basis for market verification of who owns what. Traditionally, ownership information has been scattered across the systems of fund managers, custodians and other market participants. This structure requires the alignment of records in different databases after transactions, especially when cross-regional and cross-platform transactions and fund activities become increasingly frequent, which will impose heavy reconciliation burdens. BNY is working to resolve this coordination issue by migrating record-keeping capabilities to a shared on-chain data layer. Relevant reports pointed out that the bank's goal is to provide a unified source of real data for all parties participating in the fund's tokenization life cycle, thereby reducing operational friction caused by maintaining parallel records.

BNY's on-chain transfer agency plan and its scale

According to reports, BNY's blockchain-based transfer agency platform will be integrated into its existing transfer agency services rather than replacing them. The bank is expected to continue to operate traditional businesses outside of the new digital platform. The report also mentioned the overall size of BNY's transfer agency business: its transfer agency services cover approximately US$8.6 trillion in assets and involve 7.6 million accounts. In addition, the bank has more than $59 trillion in assets under custody-figures that highlight the importance of the change: even incremental improvements in back-office processes can have a huge impact at a time when business volume and complexity is extremely high. BNY has not publicly confirmed the specific blockchain network supporting the new platform, and as of the original report, the bank has not responded to requests for comment.

Early users include Baillie Gifford

BNY's on-chain record-keeping service is expected to be used by early adopters for tokenized fund products. The report mentioned that Baillie Gifford, an Edinburgh-based asset management company, was one of the early users. The company plans to use the platform to launch what it describes as the UK's first "fully native" tokenized regulated fund. The same report also noted that BlackRock and BNY Dreyfus Money Market Funds and Cash Management businesses are also expected to adopt the service for upcoming tokenized funds. For investors and market observers, this means that these companies represent different parts of the institutional ecosystem-asset management companies and custodiment-related infrastructure-suggesting that the BNY push is aimed at cross-role interoperability rather than isolated trials. According to its website, Baillie Gifford manages approximately US$261 billion in assets. The report quoted Theo Golden, head of digital assets at Baillie Gifford, who emphasized the value of blockchain as a source of shared record-keeping among participants and pointed out that blockchain serves as a source of real data when processing assets.

How can this move integrate into the broader wave of tokenization

This effort is in line with a broader institutional trend: moving away from isolated tokenization demos to business-robust frameworks that can support real-world fund operations. Tokenized products still require traditional market processes-issuance, redemption, and ownership verification-but on-chain record-keeping can reduce the need for separate systems to maintain parallel "real data." Its core commitment is not only that assets are tokenized, but also that operating pipelines can be synchronized as transactions flow between participants. BNY's move comes as the agency's digital asset strategy continues to mature amid increasingly clear regulatory frameworks in major jurisdictions. The report linked the move to BNY's broader digital asset expansion, including its regulatory progress in Europe under relevant regulations, indicating that the bank is preparing to serve tokenized financial products on a scale. Still, there is one key uncertainty for readers: the implementation level. Since BNY has not disclosed the blockchain network on which the platform relies, observers will focus on how the bank addresses issues such as data access, operational governance, and integration with existing funds and custody workflows-factors that often determine whether tokenization can move from pilot projects to regular applications. For now, the key signal is that a major custodian bank is viewing transfer agent record-keeping as a core function on its chain rather than a marginal add-on. As the BNY platform gains early adoptions and the accelerated launch of tokenized funds, market participants should focus on whether on-chain records can really simplify the reconciliation process between participants and the network and integration decisions that ultimately determine performance and adoption.