New York Life’s $800B asset manager makes tokenization debut with Centrifuge fund

The launch adds another blue-chip asset manager to Wall Street’s tokenization push. Firms including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Apollo and Janus Henderson have embraced onchain versions of traditional funds, betting the technology can modernize how assets are issued, transferred and settled. Supporters argue the technology can shorten settlement times, improve operational efficiency and allow assets to move more easily across blockchain-based financial applications.

For Centrifuge, the partnership adds another large asset manager to its platform. The company already tokenizes funds from Apollo, Janus Henderson, with those assets increasingly integrated into decentralized finance protocols such as Aave and Morpho. It is also the preferred tokenization partner of Coinbase, which made a strategic investment in the firm.

The tokenized real-world asset market has grown to more than $30 billion excluding stablecoins, according to rwa.xyz. Citi projects tokenized assets could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030, while Standard Chartered estimates the market could expand to $2 trillion by 2028 as blockchain-based finance gains wider adoption.

While early institutional efforts centered on tokenized U.S. Treasury funds, firms are increasingly expanding into other asset classes such as private credit, equities and corporate bonds.