First Native On-Chain Fund
Baillie Gifford Launches UK-Regulated Native Tokenized Bond Fund on Ethereum and Solana
Key Points
BAGEY is issued using both Ethereum and Solana as the underlying blockchain infrastructure for the fund’s on-chain ownership/settlement records (rather than a single chain).
BNY provides the tokenization/wallet infrastructure, while NatWest Trustee and Depositary Services is serving as the fund’s depositary.
Baillie Gifford said eligible investors can invest using either USDC or fiat, with a stated minimum investment of $100.
Theo Golden, Baillie Gifford’s head of digital assets and tokenization, described the structure as “not a token wrapped around a fund, but a fund issued on-chain.”
The Solana-focused rollout described BAGEY as “the first publicly available, fully native UK-regulated tokenized fund issued onchain” on Solana.
Baillie Gifford, the 118-year-old Edinburgh asset manager, has launched BAGEY — the Baillie Gifford Enhanced Yield Fund — making it the first publicly available, fully native UK-regulated tokenized fund issued on public blockchains, according to Genfinity. The fund targets a ~7% annual yield on short-duration corporate bonds, with a minimum investment of just $100.
Unlike most tokenized products, which simply wrap an existing fund in a digital token, BAGEY is issued directly on both Ethereum and Solana. Theo Golden, Baillie Gifford's head of digital assets and tokenization, put it plainly: "not a token wrapped around a fund, but a fund issued on-chain." The blockchain itself serves as the legal register of record.
How BAGEY Works and Who Can Buy It
BAGEY is structured as a UK-regulated open-ended investment company (OEIC). That means it follows the same legal rules as any UK fund — KYC checks, depositary oversight, and FCA compliance. NatWest Trustee and Depositary Services acts as the fund's depositary, protecting investor interests, according to Genfinity.
Eligible investors in the UK, Switzerland, and the Cayman Islands can buy into the fund using either USDC or fiat currency. Settlement runs on Solana in under 30 seconds or on Ethereum in roughly 12 minutes — compared to the standard two-day wait for traditional bond funds. The fund is capped at $500 million for its first 90 days, per Crypto Economy.
BNY Builds the Plumbing Behind the Fund
BNY, the global custody giant, provides the tokenization engines and wallet infrastructure that bridge fiat money and digital assets, according to CoinCodex. The firm expanded its digital asset suite for UK-regulated OEICs in May 2026, setting the stage for BAGEY's launch.
The dual-chain setup — both Ethereum and Solana — is a deliberate choice. It avoids dependence on any single network. Ethereum brings deep institutional liquidity. Solana offers high-speed, low-cost settlement. The result is a fund that settles near-instantly while sitting inside a fully regulated wrapper.
Solana Gets Its Biggest Institutional Stamp of Approval
Solana has long battled a reputation for reliability problems. Using it as the backbone of a UK-regulated fund changes that narrative. Crypto Times described BAGEY as "the first publicly available, fully native UK-regulated tokenized fund issued onchain" on Solana — a major milestone for the network's institutional credibility.
The low $100 minimum is also notable. Most actively managed bond funds require thousands of dollars to enter. By accepting USDC at such a low threshold, Baillie Gifford is opening a 7%-yielding asset class to a much wider group of investors than traditional finance has ever allowed.
Why the 'Register of Record' Precedent Matters
The biggest legal shift here is quiet but significant. UK law previously required a centralized registrar to track fund ownership. BAGEY establishes that a public blockchain can legally serve as the register of members under FCA rules. That means ownership records live natively on-chain — not in a spreadsheet held by a bank.
This structure removes layers of manual reconciliation between fund managers, transfer agents, and custodians. Analysts have estimated that by stripping out this middle-office overhead, funds like BAGEY could save 15–20 basis points in administrative costs and pass them directly to investors, according to CoinCodex.
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