Aviva puts £22bn sterling fund share class on XRP Ledger

Aviva Investors and Ripple launched a tokenized share class of Aviva’s £22 billion Sterling Liquidity Fund on the XRP Ledger on Oct. 26, adding a digital route to a fund that continues to operate off-chain. The Aviva Investors announcement says the fund’s existing objective, risk profile, liquidity features and regulatory protections remain the same. Aviva invested £50 million in the new share class.

How does the tokenized share class work?

It adds an on-chain representation of fund holdings while leaving the underlying fund structure off-chain. Aviva calls this a “digital twin” model: the XRP Ledger provides a digital access layer, while the fund continues to hold and manage its investments through its existing structure. Think of it as a digital receipt linked to a conventional fund holding; the receipt does not move the fund’s investments onto the blockchain.

The fund is an Ireland-domiciled UCITS money market fund, first launched in 2002. It invests in high-grade, short-term debt denominated in pounds and targets daily liquidity. The The Block report on the launch says investors need an eligible digital wallet to access the new share class. Aviva says the fund’s assets are held by its custodian, The Bank of New York Mellon; regulated digital asset custodian Komainu and infrastructure platform Licuido also supported the launch.

What changes for investors?

Eligible investors can access the share class in tokenized form on XRPL, but Aviva says its investment terms and protections match those of the conventional fund. The announcement does not describe a change to what the fund owns or how its daily liquidity works. The blockchain layer is for issuing and managing the tokenized share class, using XRPL transactions.

Aviva says the new share class is its second tokenized fund offering, following a tokenized share class for its US dollar liquidity fund in July. Across the two offerings, it reports more than £86 million invested, including its £50 million investment in the sterling share class.

Why is the XRP Ledger involved?

XRPL is the network on which the tokenized share class is issued and managed. Ripple worked with Aviva on the launch; the ledger’s validators maintain the network and confirm transactions. Aviva says XRPL has processed more than 4 billion transactions since 2012, supports nearly 8 million active wallets and is maintained by more than 130 independent validators.

The launch extends Aviva’s tokenization work with Ripple, which began with a partnership announced in February. It puts a digital access layer around a large sterling money market fund, while leaving its underlying investment structure in place.

Sources and documents

• Aviva Investors announcement — avivainvestors.com
• The Block report on the launch — theblock.co