Apex Group, the fund and asset servicer, acquired a majority stake in enterprise-grade tokenization solutions provider Tokeny to help catalyse institutional adoption almost a year ago in May 2025. As a result, Apex Group said it is on the way to reaching its target of $100bn in tokenized assets under administration by June 2027.

Agnes Mazurek, global head of digital assets at Apex Group, told Markets Media: “We are certainly seeing momentum. Conversations with clients and the pace of adoption are very significant compared to a couple of years, so that adoption curve is looking really good.”

She described Apex Group’s strategy as bringing the institutional mindset of traditional finance (TradFi) to the decentralised finance (DeFi) environment.

Apex Group expects to eventually have 100% control in Tokeny over the next two years, following an initial investment and strategic partnership formed in December 2023. Luc Falempin, chief executive of Tokeny, said in a statement that becoming part of Apex Group would bring tokenization at scale, and provide institutional distribution and credibility.

Peter Hughes, founder and chief executive of Apex Group, established the company in Bermuda in 2003, and it has grown to more than 13,000 people in over 50 jurisdictions. He said in a statement at the time of the Tokeny transaction that the strengthened partnership is key to delivering the vision to become the infrastructure provider in the digital era of finance. He added: “Tokenization is a foundational shift in how assets will be managed, distributed, and accessed.”

For example, launching a fund on a blockchain can democratize access, make record keeping auditable and immutable and allow ownership to be easily transferred.

The Tokeny acquisition was described as a “foundational” step in Apex Group’s strategy to transform asset servicing by using blockchain technology, decentralised protocols, smart contracts and distribution to enhance efficiency, security and transparency.

Mazurek said Hughes started thinking about digitization several years ago as a way to run the business more efficiently and to improve the client experience, and tokenization is the next natural step in the quest for operational efficiencies.

“We started discussing and exploring the operational efficiency angle several years ago, and that led to us initially taking a minority interest in Tokeny,” she added.

Last year the group launched Apex Digital 3.0, a platform based on Tokeny technology. Mazurek described the platform as a “single source”  solution that supports the end-to-end tokenization process. For example, it covers crypto fund servicing, tokenization, stablecoin, and digital distribution that allows clients to apply DeFi style, processes and technologies to TradFi.

“Seamless integration and interoperability are key words,” added Mazurek.

She used the analogy of people with Gmail and Apex Group domain email addresses needing to be able to message one another. Mazurek said: “Imagine a situation where people cannot reach each other because their email domains are different.”

Partnerships

In order to help achieve this seamless integration and interoperability, Apex Group said in March this year that it will adopt the T-REX Ledger as its default multi-chain orchestration infrastructure. The ledger provides a neutral coordination layer for tokenized asset ownership and compliance across multiple blockchain ecosystems.

The T-REX Ledger aggregates and synchronizes investor records, compliance checks, and transfer controls across all connected blockchain ecosystems and traditional financial distribution channels. Compliance is tied to the investor identity rather than the wallet, so that know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) controls remain portable and enforceable across every chain and platform without duplication or fragmentation,

In March this year Apex Group said it would expand its digital asset servicing capabilities through a collaboration between the European Depositary Bank (EDB), an Apex Group company, and Zodia Custody, the institution-first digital assets platform, subject to the relevant regulatory approvals for EDB across Luxembourg, Ireland and Malta. This will meet growing demand for secure and compliant access to digital assets so that institutions do not have to build parallel custody infrastructure from the ground up.

Craig Perrin, managing director FI Solutions at Zodia Custody, said in a statement: “For digital assets to move to the mainstream of institutional finance, the technology and capabilities supporting them must meet the standards of traditional custody.”

Mazurek described forming complementary partnerships as an important part of Apex Group’s strategy. If Apex Group does not  have an internal tool or platform to provide a seamless journey for clients, the firm will look to plug that gap.

“That is why we call ourselves single source,” she added. “We recognize there are players who have already invested a considerable amount of time and brain cells into developing their own enterprises.”

Differentiation

Mazurek argued that a differentiator for Apex Group is being early in technology and a first mover. She added: What makes us unique is that we have already delivered on this value proposition.”

Back in 2024 Hamilton Lane, the private markets investment management firm, said it would begin to offer tokenized versions of funds via the Allfunds blockchain platform to streamline fund operations and increase investor access. Apex Group is the transfer agent.

Fast forward to March this year and Apex Group helped Coinbase Asset Management launch the tokenized Coinbase Bitcoin Yield Fund using its global transfer agency capabilities to deliver a digitally native share class within a fully compliant framework. Investor onboarding is conducted through the CBAM Investor Portal powered by Tokeny, ensuring every participant is linked to a compliant onchain identity.

Coinbase Asset Management also plans to launch a tokenized share class for its Coinbase US Bitcoin Yield Fund with Apex Group, according to a statement.

Mazurek said: “Our solution is truly single source and already has a track record. We are very focused on making sure that the solutions we deliver at scale are robust and compliant with relevant regulations.”

Apex Group services more than $3 trillion of assets, so Mazurek added that leveraging existing relationships is a priority, but the firm also wants to build on the wider market interest in tokenization.