In a groundbreaking move for the asset management industry, Hamilton Lane has become the first traditional finance (“TradFi”) firm to launch a fund on the Solana blockchain. The company, which manages over $900 billion in assets, announced on Tuesday the introduction of its private credit fund, Senior Credit Opportunities Fund (SCOPE), on the high-performance Solana network.
Key highlights of this innovative launch include:
– Blockchain Integration: Hamilton Lane has tokenized SCOPE on the Solana blockchain, leveraging its high-speed and low-cost transaction capabilities.
– Collaboration with Libre: The firm partnered with Libre, a Web3 protocol developed by Brevan Howard’s WebN Group and Nomura’s crypto division, Laser Digital, to facilitate the fund’s issuance and distribution.
– Target Audience: The tokenized fund aims to attract ‘mass affluent, crypto native’ investors, expanding Hamilton Lane’s distribution reach.
– Investor Access: Accredited and institutional investors on Solana-based platforms can now access this premium fund in a fully compliant manner.
– Enhanced Features: The tokenization enables additional services such as secondary trading and collateralized lending where applicable.
Victor Jung, Hamilton Lane’s head of digital assets, expressed enthusiasm about the launch, stating, “This is for the decentralized finance enthusiasts. We believe this is merely the beginning of a segment of the financial asset class that will be accessible to a new demographic with differing risk-return expectations”.
The SCOPE fund, launched in 2022, currently manages approximately $556 million and offers an annual yield of around 10% for USD investors. This move by Hamilton Lane represents a significant step in bridging traditional asset management with blockchain technology, potentially paving the way for increased adoption of tokenized real-world assets in the financial industry.
As the first institutional fund to be launched directly on the Solana blockchain, this initiative marks a milestone in the convergence of traditional finance and decentralized technology. It demonstrates the growing interest of established financial institutions in leveraging blockchain capabilities to enhance accessibility, transparency, and efficiency in asset management.
