Digital transfer agent
A digital transfer agent keeps the register of who owns the shares of a fund or the securities of an issuer, and records that register on a blockchain. It processes subscriptions, redemptions and transfers, checks that each new holder passed the investor checks, and pays out distributions to the wallets on the register.
The legal duty stays the same as for a conventional transfer agent, because the agent still keeps the official record of ownership. What changes is the technology of the record: tokens in investor wallets replace or mirror the entries in a database, and a smart contract can block a transfer to an investor whom the agent has not approved.
What a transfer agent does
A transfer agent records every issue, redemption and transfer of fund shares or securities and keeps the list of holders that the issuer relies on. In the United States a transfer agent registers with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in Luxembourg the registrar and transfer agent of a fund needs an authorization from the financial supervisor CSSF. For a tokenized fund the agent also decides which wallets may hold the token and keeps the link between each wallet and a verified investor.
Franklin Templeton and the first fund register on a public blockchain
The Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, launched by Franklin Templeton in 2021, was the first fund registered in the United States to use a public blockchain to process transactions and record share ownership. According to the fund prospectus, its transfer agent Franklin Templeton Investor Services keeps the official record in a system that combines book entries with public blockchains, and all shareholder records stay under the full control of the transfer agent.
Securitize as transfer agent of BlackRock BUIDL
BlackRock launched the USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, called BUIDL, on 20 March 2024 on Ethereum. Securitize, a transfer agent registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, issues the fund tokens and keeps the register of holders. Only investors whom Securitize has checked and approved can receive BUIDL tokens, and the transfer agent records each transfer between approved wallets.
CACEIS and the hybrid register of Amundi
Asset manager Amundi launched a tokenized share class of its money market fund AMUNDI FUNDS CASH EUR on the public Ethereum blockchain, and the first transaction took place on 4 November 2025. CACEIS provides the tokenization technology, digital wallets for investors and the order platform for subscriptions and redemptions. The fund is distributed in a hybrid model: investors can buy the classic share classes or the tokenized class, and the register covers both.
Upcoming tokenization events in Germany
Crypto fund shares in Germany
Germany has allowed fund shares as tokens on a blockchain since 18 June 2022, when the Regulation on Crypto Fund Shares (KryptoFAV) came into force. For a German contractual fund the register is kept by the depositary or by a firm the depositary appoints, and that firm needs a license as crypto securities registrar. In Germany the depositary thus holds the role that a transfer agent has in the United States or Luxembourg.
Transfer agent vs custodian
A transfer agent records who owns the shares of a fund, while a custodian holds the assets the fund has bought, such as bonds, shares or cash. In the European Union a depositary also checks that the fund follows its rules and that its net asset value is calculated correctly. In a tokenized fund the investor holds the fund token in a wallet, while the fund assets stay with the custodian or depositary as before.
Digital transfer agents and Finance Loop
Registers for tokenized funds belong to the Investment & Digital Assets track of Finance Loop. Finance Loop events on tokenization in Frankfurt bring together people from depositaries, fund administrators, asset managers and registrars.
Finance Loop is a professional network and has the goal of driving the institutional use of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, digital payments, cloud and blockchain solutions. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.