New York Life makes tokenization debut with onchain high-yield bond fund with Centrifuge

New York Life Investment Management (NYLIM), the $807 billion asset management arm of major life insurer New York Life, is bringing its first investment strategy onto blockchain rails, joining a growing list of Wall Street firms embracing tokenized funds.

The firm said Tuesday it is partnering with tokenization platform Centrifuge to launch a blockchain-based version of its U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond Strategy. The fund, called the NYLIM Anemoy U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond Segregated Portfolio (HYB), is the firm's first tokenized investment product.

"Tokenization represents a compelling evolution in how investment solutions can be accessed, managed and distributed," Thomas Sy, head of multi-asset solutions at NYLIM, said in a statement.

Eligible investors will be able to subscribe to and redeem shares using Circle's USDC stablecoin, while New York Life continues to manage the underlying portfolio and investment strategy.

Expanding Beyond Treasuries

The launch adds another blue-chip asset manager to Wall Street's tokenization push. Firms including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Apollo and Janus Henderson have embraced onchain versions of traditional funds, betting the technology can modernize how assets are issued, transferred and settled.

Supporters argue the technology can shorten settlement times, improve operational efficiency and allow assets to move more easily across blockchain-based financial applications.

The move expands tokenization beyond Treasuries and private credit into higher-yield fixed-income products.

Centrifuge's Growing Platform

For Centrifuge, the partnership adds another large asset manager to its platform. The company already tokenizes funds from Apollo, Janus Henderson, with those assets increasingly integrated into decentralized finance protocols such as Aave and Morpho. It is also the preferred tokenization partner of Coinbase, which made a strategic investment in the firm.

Market Growth Projections

The tokenized real-world asset market has grown to more than $30 billion excluding stablecoins, according to rwa.xyz. Citi projects tokenized assets could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030, while Standard Chartered estimates the market could expand to $2 trillion by 2028 as blockchain-based finance gains wider adoption.

While early institutional efforts centered on tokenized U.S. Treasury funds, firms are increasingly expanding into other asset classes such as private credit, equities and corporate bonds.