Centrifuge Pioneers First Licensed Tokenized S&P 500 Fund on Base Network - DeFi Meets Traditional Finance

Wall Street's favorite index just went crypto-native.

Centrifuge shatters regulatory barriers by launching the first fully licensed tokenized S&P 500 fund on Coinbase's Base network—bringing traditional finance's most tracked benchmark on-chain.

Tokenization Goes Mainstream

The deployment marks a watershed moment for real-world asset tokenization. Investors can now access S&P 500 exposure through blockchain infrastructure while maintaining regulatory compliance—something traditional finance has struggled to achieve without layers of intermediaries.

Base Network's Institutional Push

Coinbase's Layer-2 solution becomes the landing pad for institutional-grade financial products. The Base network's regulatory-friendly environment provides the necessary framework for licensed financial instruments—proving DeFi can play by traditional rules when required.

The Compliance Bridge

Full licensing means institutional investors can participate without regulatory hesitation. The fund operates within existing financial frameworks while leveraging blockchain's efficiency advantages—settlement times and operational costs see dramatic improvements over traditional fund structures.

Traditional finance purists might scoff at crypto's volatility, but they can't ignore the efficiency gains when their precious S&P 500 starts moving at blockchain speed. The irony? Wall Street's benchmark index now runs on infrastructure they've spent years dismissing.

TLDR

• Centrifuge launched SPXA, the first licensed tokenized S&P 500 index fund on the Base blockchain
• The fund offers 24-hour trading access to the S&P 500 index with transparent holdings
• Janus Henderson and Anemoy manage the fund, with FalconX serving as anchor investor
• Wormhole will enable future expansion to other blockchain networks
• This represents the first blockchain-based index fund officially licensed by S&P Dow Jones Indices

Centrifuge has launched the Janus Henderson Anemoy S&P 500 Fund (SPXA) on the Base blockchain network. This marks the first tokenized S&P 500 index fund officially licensed by S&P Dow Jones Indices.

⚡ Live: Centrifuge launches SPXA, the first-ever tokenized S&P 500 Index Fund licensed by @SPDJIndices.

Exclusively on @base, with multichain expansion to be powered exclusively by @wormhole.

Managed by @anemoycapital, @JHIAdvisors, with @FalconXGlobal as the anchor investor. pic.twitter.com/g8ZRr6xp5T

— Centrifuge (@centrifuge) September 25, 2025

The fund went live on Thursday on Base, an ethereum layer-2 network developed by Coinbase. SPXA allows investors to access the S&P 500 index through blockchain technology with round-the-clock trading capabilities.

The S&P 500 tracks the largest publicly traded U.S. companies and covers approximately 80% of the U.S. equity market. Traditional trading of this index is limited to market hours, but the tokenized version removes these time constraints.

FalconX Global serves as the anchor investor for the new fund. The digital asset brokerage provided initial backing to support the launch of SPXA.

Janus Henderson, a London-based global asset manager with nearly $500 billion in assets under management, acts as sub-investment manager. The firm brings traditional finance expertise to the blockchain-based product.

Centrifuge’s asset management arm Anemoy oversees the fund operations. Anemoy Capital manages the day-to-day activities of SPXA alongside JHI Advisors.

Technology and Infrastructure

The fund uses Centrifuge’s Proof-of-Index technology for tokenization. This system enables the creation of blockchain-based representations of traditional financial instruments.

Wormhole, a cross-chain messaging protocol, will handle future expansion to other blockchain networks. This partnership allows SPXA to potentially operate across multiple blockchain ecosystems.

The Base network provides the initial foundation for SPXA operations. As an Ethereum layer-2 solution, Base offers faster transaction speeds and lower costs compared to the main Ethereum network.

Market Context

The launch fits into the growing trend of tokenizing real-world assets. Traditional financial institutions and crypto firms are increasingly bringing bonds, funds, and equities onto blockchain networks.

Asset managers Franklin Templeton and BlackRock have launched tokenized products through their FOBXX and BUIDL funds. These offerings demonstrate institutional adoption of blockchain-based financial instruments.

Nasdaq submitted a proposal to the SEC earlier this month for trading tokenized products on its exchange. The plan WOULD allow blockchain-based equities and ETFs to trade alongside traditional securities.

Crypto exchanges Kraken and Robinhood have also introduced tokenized versions of U.S. stocks. These platforms offer retail investors access to stock trading through cryptocurrency interfaces.

Centrifuge has built infrastructure for tokenizing private credit and fixed income since 2017. SPXA represents the company’s entry into tokenized equities after years of focus on other asset classes.

The fund provides transparent holdings and operational efficiency through blockchain technology. Investors can verify the underlying assets and track performance in real-time through on-chain data.

SPXA went live on Thursday, September 25, 2025, on the Base network with support from FalconX as anchor investor and management from Janus Henderson and Anemoy Capital.