Asset management firm Aviva Investors, in partnership with Ripple, has launched a tokenized share class for its £22 billion Sterling Liquidity Fund on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The launch expands Aviva's total investments across its tokenized money market funds to over £86 million (approximately $116 million).
Key Takeaways
- Aviva Investors injected £50 million (~$66 million) into the new tokenized share class on XRPL.
- The Ireland-based UCITS fund retains its traditional structure via a digital twin model.
- Institutional support is anchored by digital asset custodian Komainu, infrastructure provider Licuido, and asset custodian The Bank of New York Mellon.
- This marks Aviva's second tokenized fund on XRPL, following its USD Liquidity Fund release on July 29.
Institutional Architecture and Integration
Originally established in 2002, the Sterling Liquidity Fund aims to deliver low-risk returns and daily liquidity by investing in short-term debt instruments denominated in British pounds. Operating as a UCITS money market fund based in Ireland, the new tokenized share class uses a digital twin model. This setup allows investors to access tokenized shares on the XRP Ledger while leaving the underlying risk profile, investment objectives, and regulatory framework unchanged.
Institutional infrastructure for the deployment is managed across regulated partners. Komainu serves as the institutional digital asset custodian, while Licuido provides the underlying digital asset infrastructure for real-world assets. The Bank of New York Mellon maintains direct custody of the fund's underlying assets. Access to the tokenized shares remains restricted strictly to eligible institutional investors with verified digital wallets.
Expanding the Aviva-Ripple Infrastructure Partnership
This release marks the second tokenized fund product Aviva Investors has launched on XRPL. The asset manager initially partnered with Ripple in February, with Ripple citing Aviva as its first investment management partner in Europe. Following authorization from the Central Bank of Ireland, the partnership launched its first tokenized fund, the USD Liquidity Fund, on July 29.
The deployment comes as institution-focused blockchain initiatives continue to grow, matching trends where Ripple expands treasury platform offerings for corporate clients. Commenting on the launch, Aviva Investors Chief Executive Mark Versey said, "We're thrilled to be able to announce the launch of our second fund in the tokenisation space, with the addition of the new tokenised share class for our GBP Liquidity Fund. This expansion of our tokenised offering shows our clear intent to be a leader in this area and sets the groundwork for a future expansion of our capabilities. We believe tokenised funds can increase efficiency and ultimately lead to improved client outcomes."
Why It Matters
The expansion of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization onto public blockchains like the XRP Ledger indicates that legacy asset managers are progressing past small pilot initiatives into full-scale operational deployments. By bringing a portion of its flagship £22 billion money market fund to XRPL, Aviva Investors provides concrete validation for public ledger settlement while keeping existing custody frameworks intact via BNY Mellon. As institutional adoption grows, market observers will be watching whether secondary liquidity and intraday settlement functions develop around these digital twin fund shares.
