Major US investment bank JPMorgan has reportedly tokenized a private-equity fund on its own blockchain platform, rolling out the tokenized product to its high-net-worth clients.
JPMorgan plans to tokenize assets, such as hedge funds, through its upcoming fund tokenization platform, Kinexys Fund Flow, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
“For the alternative investments industry, it’s just a matter of time that a blockchain-based solution is going to be adopted,” JPMorgan’s asset management arm’s executive Anton Pil said.
According to the report, JPMorgan expects a broader rollout of Kinexys Fund Flow next year and expects to tokenize additional assets such as private credit and real estate.
Easier access for investors
Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization is a process of digitizing ownership of assets such as real estate, commodities or funds into digital tokens on a blockchain. Unlike traditional assets, tokenized versions offer more flexibility such as fractional ownership or usage as collateral.
According to JPMorgan’s Pil, who serves as head of global alternative investment solutions at the bank’s asset management arm, tokenized assets essentially provide a simpler gateway for investors to get exposure to an asset.
“It’s more about simplifying the ecosystem of alternatives and making it, frankly, a little easier to access for most investors,” he said.
Asset tokenization has emerged as one of the key trends in the past few years, with investment giants like BlackRock betting that every financial asset is set to be tokenized in the future.
JPMorgan has been taking efforts to tokenize assets for a while now, though. The banking giant has been active in tokenization and blockchain-based financial infrastructure since around 2019, when it formally launched its Onyx division and related projects.
Related: JPMorgan reportedly plans to let clients borrow against their Bitcoin and Ether
The company rebranded Onyx to Kinexys in late 2024 with a mission to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology and tokenization into mainstream financial services.
Cointelegraph approached JPMorgan for comment regarding its tokenization of a private-equity fund on Kinexys but had not received a response by publication.
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