Spiko and Amundi Move Tokenized Funds Beyond Treasuries

The median age of a first-time homebuyer in the U.S. just hit 40. High rates, record prices, limited inventory. At the same time, a growing share of younger Americans sits on meaningful crypto wealth they can’t use in the mortgage process without selling first, triggering capital gains taxes and forfeiting future upside.

Coinbase and Better think they have a fix.

Yesterday, the two companies launched a crypto-backed mortgage where borrowers pledge Bitcoin to back a loan covering the down payment, while the mortgage itself remains a standard U.S. home loan backed by government-sponsored Fannie Mae. Both loans share the same rate and amortization, rolled into a single monthly payment. Your BTC stays in custody and is returned once the loan is repaid.

The fine print is worth reading. Bitcoin is subject to a 40% haircut to its market value: you need to pledge $250K in BTC to unlock a $100K down payment loan. On the bright side, and unlike DeFi loans, there are no margin calls if prices drop. Your crypto is only liquidated if you fall 60 days behind on payments.

It’s a clever product. But it requires a specific kind of borrower: one who would rather freeze 2.5x the value they need than part with their BTC or face variable interest rates and liquidation risks.

Locking up your Bitcoin in someone else’s custody for up to 30 years, untouched and unproductive, might just be the ultimate proof of HODL.

In today’s Briefing:

• Tether engages Big Four firm to begin first full independent audit
• Spiko and Amundi move tokenized funds beyond Treasuries

HIGH SIGNAL NEWS

• Tether signs Big Four firm for audit. This would mark the first full independent financial audit for the world’s largest stablecoin issuer. 🔍️
• Bitpanda launches Vision Chain. The Layer-2 network is designed to provide infrastructure for banks and fintechs to issue and settle tokenized assets under EU frameworks such as MiCA and MiFID II. It uses regulated EUR stablecoins for transaction fees and is built on Optimism’s Ethereum-based infrastructure. 🇪🇺
• Bitwise to offer BTC yield solutions via Lombard Finance. Soon, the digital asset manager will allow institutional investors to earn yield on their BTC holdings while keeping assets within their existing custody setups with providers such as Anchorage, BitGo, or Fireblocks. 🟠
• Grayscale files S-1 for HYPE spot ETF. The filing follows Hyperliquid’s exclusive agreement with S&P DJI just one week prior. If approved, it would signal implicit SEC recognition that the protocol’s token does not qualify as a security. 📈
• Solana introduces Solana Developer Platform. Designed for enterprise use, it aims to enable the launch of financial products on Solana within weeks rather than months. According to the announcement, players such as Mastercard and Western Union are already building with SDP. 🛠️

TOP STORY

Spiko and Amundi Move Tokenized Funds Beyond Treasuries

New product: Last week, Paris-based tokenization startup Spiko announced the launch of the Spiko Amundi Overnight Swap Fund (SAFO), a new tokenized fund developed with Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager. In its first week, the product attracted over $150 million in deposits across more than 700 unique holders.

• Why it matters: To date, the $12 billion tokenized fund market has been dominated by a single product type: money market funds backed by sovereign debt, especially U.S. Treasuries. But with interest rates declining across the board and competition intensifying as major players enter the market, issuers are being pushed to explore new products to remain competitive.

Total return swaps: Instead of holding Treasuries, SAFO uses total return swaps with large banks: the fund holds assets on behalf of banks that want the exposure without the balance sheet cost, and earns a premium in return. The result is a higher yield than a standard tokenized MMF while maintaining a comparable risk profile.

Amundi’s debut: The €2.4 trillion asset manager brings the counterparty network and daily swap management infrastructure that makes the structure viable. It also marks the first time that the firm will manage an externally originated onchain fund, having previously only tokenized shares of its own EUR money market fund in November last year.

Spiko’s B2B play: Spiko, on the other hand, brings the tokenization infrastructure and targeted distribution. The startup already operates tokenized MMFs across the euro, U.S. dollar, and British pound, each designed for corporate treasury and collateral management rather than retail investment. That focus is reflected in its user base: more than 3,500 active holders across 20+ countries, with B2B users accounting for over 90% of total AUM.

• "Tokenized MMFs are particularly valuable for SMEs, which typically have far more limited access to sophisticated treasury services than large multinational corporations," Paul-Adrien Hyppolite, Co-Founder and CEO at Spiko, told Blockstories.
• "They give corporates access to yield-bearing, cash-equivalent instruments that can be transferred around the clock. Traditional alternatives simply cannot offer the same level of flexibility and capital efficiency."

TVL Growth & Active Users Across Spiko’s Core Products

Top 3 issuer: That focus has also allowed Spiko to attract capital sitting outside the onchain economy, fueling rapid growth. Since going live in June 2024, the startup has amassed $1.2 billion in total AUM, making it the largest European issuer of tokenized onchain funds and the third-largest issuer of tokenized Treasuries globally, trailing only Circle's USYC ($2.1 billion) and BlackRock's BUIDL ($2 billion).

Exclusive insights: In our conversation, Hyppolite explained how SAFO fits into Spiko's broader growth ambitions, how the product works in practice, and how the partnership with Amundi came together.

What is the strategic rationale behind SAFO, and why did you launch it with Amundi?

How does a total return swap structure work exactly?

Illustrative example by Blockstories; not an exact representation of SAFO’s operations

In practice, who are the counterparties for SAFO and what role does Amundi play?

You mentioned attracting new users with SAFO. What types of investors are you targeting?

Eunice | $8 million | Pre-seed + Seed : Crypto compliance startup.

Payy | $6 million | Seed : Privacy-first stablecoin chain.

Megapot | $5 million | Undisclosed : Crypto-powered global lottery.

Kairos | $2.4 million | Seed : Interest rate swap protocol.

Disclaimer: The information provided in the Crypto Briefing by Blockstories does not constitute investment advice. Accordingly, we assume no liability for any investment decisions made based on the content presented herein.