Spain Moves Private Markets On-Chain as BBVA Backs Tokenised Fund
BBVA Asset Management has become the first investor and initial exclusive institutional distributor of a tokenised share class of Hamilton Lane’s Global Private Assets Fund, highlighting Spain’s growing role in the digitalisation of private-market distribution.
Hamilton Lane announced the initiative in May 2026, bringing together the global private-markets investment manager with Spanish fund-distribution platform Allfunds and global fund-services provider Apex Group.
The tokenised share class has been developed by Hamilton Lane in partnership with Allfunds Blockchain and Apex Group. Allfunds Blockchain provides the technology infrastructure, while Apex acts as transfer agent, supporting digital subscriptions, administration and servicing.
For BBVA Asset Management, the arrangement provides an opportunity to explore a blockchain-based distribution model for institutional portfolios. Hamilton Lane said the structure is intended to improve operational efficiency, transparency and flexibility while reducing friction associated with cross-border distribution.
The development builds on Spain’s earlier experimentation with tokenised investment funds. The Spanish securities regulator, CNMV, completed a regulatory-sandbox project involving Renta 4, Allfunds and Allfunds Blockchain that tested the issuance, subscription and redemption of tokenised investment-fund units using distributed-ledger technology.
A separate Allfunds project involving a DLT-based multilateral trading facility for UCITS units has also been testing how distributed-ledger technology could be incorporated into conventional fund-market infrastructure.
Allfunds says it was involved in Spain’s first tokenised fund in 2022. More recently, the Madrid-based platform announced that its tokenised funds would be made accessible through both its traditional infrastructure and the Solana blockchain, linking institutional fund distribution with on-chain markets.
The developments point to a broader shift in the application of tokenisation. Rather than being limited to digital assets, distributed-ledger technology is increasingly being explored as infrastructure for conventional investment funds, including their issuance, administration, transfer and distribution.
Private markets are a particularly relevant area for this development. Private-market funds can involve complex subscription processes, multiple intermediaries and cross-border administration, creating potential opportunities for digital infrastructure to simplify parts of the investment lifecycle.
For Spain, the involvement of BBVA Asset Management, Hamilton Lane, Allfunds and Apex Group places the country at the intersection of private markets, fund distribution and emerging digital-market infrastructure.
The initiative therefore represents more than another experiment with blockchain. It provides a practical example of how tokenisation is beginning to connect traditional fund structures with the infrastructure of on-chain markets.