BNY Mellon Joins Forces With DigiFT For Actively Managed Tokenized Fund

On 26 Jan, BNY and DigiFT announced a partnership that moves the conversation beyond the theoretical. By managing an actively managed US equity fund on the Ethereum public blockchain, BNY is signalling that the world’s largest custodian is finally ready to treat the digital frontier as a legitimate extension of the global financial system.

End of the experimental pilot

The period of the tentative, experimental pilot has concluded. In its place stands a functioning financial vehicle for the wealthy few, providing a necessary tether between their existing portfolios and the onchain economy. 

This shift is significant because it represents a move away from passive, static assets. While previous years were defined by tokenizing basic money market funds, the DigiFT US Equity Income Fund, or bEQTY, is a live instrument that requires active professional management.

For the accredited investor, the appeal lies in the efficiency of the Ethereum network. By using onchain infrastructure, the fund offers the promise of programmable settlement and 24-hour transparency, features that the archaic T+1 settlement cycles of the legacy markets simply cannot match. 

Rather than being a passive vault in this arrangement, BNY is providing the investment management services that underpin the entire strategy, effectively validating the use of public blockchains for Tier-1 financial products.

Regulatory scaffolding and institutional pivot

This transition to a live, onchain environment has been made possible by a maturing legal landscape. 

The passage of the GENIUS Act and the ongoing progress of the CLARITY Act have provided the regulatory scaffolding that banks require to operate. These acts have helped to clarify the jurisdictional boundaries between digital commodities and securities, allowing institutions to participate without the constant threat of regulatory ambiguity.

The move also reflects a broader shift in how major corporations view their balance sheets. Michael Saylor’s Strategy recently disclosed a $2.1bn purchase of Bitcoin, bringing its total holdings to over 712,000 BTC. While Strategy represents a direct, aggressive bet on the underlying assets, the BNY and DigiFT collaboration offers a more traditional, managed path for those who prefer the comfort of an equity wrapper.

As the "money leg" of the transaction increasingly moves toward regulated stablecoins, the success of these new onchain vehicles will be measured by their performance. The question for 2026 is whether these digital versions of traditional funds can deliver better returns and lower costs for an increasingly sophisticated global audience.