Karla Barker 
First Licensed S&P 500 Index Fund Goes On-Chain
Real-world asset platform Centrifuge has launched what it claims is the first licensed S&P 500 index fund on blockchain infrastructure. The Janus Henderson Anemoy S&P 500 Fund, known as SPXA, went live on Thursday on Base, the Ethereum layer-2 network developed by Coinbase.
This marks a significant milestone as the first tokenized index fund officially licensed by S&P Dow Jones Indices. The fund essentially brings the entire S&P 500 basket – representing about 80% of the U.S. equity market – onto blockchain rails. This means investors can trade the index around the clock with full transparency of holdings.
Major Players Back the Initiative
The project has attracted substantial backing from established financial players. FalconX, a digital asset brokerage, served as an anchor investor for the product. Meanwhile, cross-chain messaging protocol Wormhole will handle future expansion to other blockchain networks.
Janus Henderson, a London-based global asset manager overseeing nearly $500 billion in assets, is acting as sub-investment manager. Centrifuge’s own asset management division, Anemoy, oversees the fund operations. This collaboration between traditional finance and blockchain specialists reflects the growing convergence between these sectors.
Tokenization Trend Gains Momentum
The launch fits into the broader movement of bringing traditional financial instruments – often called real-world assets or RWA – onto blockchain infrastructure. Proponents argue that tokenization offers operational efficiencies, faster settlement times, and 24/7 trading capabilities that traditional markets can’t match.
Centrifuge, which has been building tokenization infrastructure for private credit and fixed income since 2017, sees SPXA as its entry point into equities. The tokenization of stock indices has recently gained significant traction as a more practical approach than tokenizing individual securities.
Industry Perspectives on the Move
Centrifuge CEO Bhaji Illuminati explained the strategic thinking behind starting with indices rather than individual stocks. “Indices are the best way to bring stocks on-chain,” he noted. “They’re simple, collateral-ready and unlock liquidity in ways individual securities can’t.”
From the index provider’s perspective, S&P Dow Jones Indices sees this as an important step toward building the future of index-linked financial products. Chief Product Officer Cameron Drinkwater indicated that traditional finance products are beginning their migration to blockchain environments, with this offering serving as a stepping stone in that transition.
The move represents another significant development in the real-world asset tokenization space, which has seen increasing activity from both blockchain-native companies and traditional financial institutions seeking to leverage blockchain technology’s benefits.