Each month, we’re bringing you a breakdown of startups’ journeys building on Solana, as well as noteworthy blockchain and ecosystem updates.
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The Latest Solana Sessions Podcast
In this episode of Solana Sessions, we sat down with Theo Golden, head of digital assets at Baillie Gifford, to discuss the launch of its bond fund, Baillie Gifford Enhanced Yield (BAGEY), on Solana, and why a century-old asset manager decided to bring fixed income onchain.
Golden explained how BAGEY started as an Excel spreadsheet, why Baillie Gifford chose short-duration bonds over equities as its first tokenized product, and how the firm's "same but better" hurdle rate shapes everything it builds in digital assets.
This episode is part of the Solana Sessions podcast series by Token Relations and the Talking Tokens podcast, where we dive into the startups and founders building on Solana. Check out the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
A 100-year-old firm brings bonds onchain
Baillie Gifford Enhanced Yield (BAGEY), is a tokenized fund that holds listed, short-duration government and corporate bonds, and offers a yield of approximately 7% in dollars that settles using USDC, meaning holders can move money in and out without having to use traditional bank wires.
Golden claims the asset manager chose to deploy the fund on Solana because of its track record for tokenization, and its ability to support multiple types of asset classes.
He explained that Baillie Gifford evaluates chains through an internal scoring system that takes into account its regulatory, fiduciary and anti-money laundering obligations. While several blockchains passed that screen, Solana stood out for two reasons: its user base skews towards first adopters, and the chain has a growing footprint across other asset classes, particularly tokenized equities.
That breadth was a strong point, as the firm intends to build upon its presence with more products. "We want to make sure that we're deploying CapEx into parts of the broader ecosystem where we can compound the value over time," Golden said.
Golen explained that every digital asset product at the firm must clear an internal hurdle rate called "same but better,” which pairs the operational resilience and legal protections of its traditional business, and adds something on top. A private chain, Golden argues, can only ever prove to be the "same" as its existing business. For BAGEY, the "better" means in-kind subscriptions and redemptions in USDC, which enable up to 10% of NAV in same-day redemptions, because the fund isn't waiting on banking system cash cycles.
The Biggest Updates on Solana
Look into the biggest announcements, developments and more happening within the Solana ecosystem.
Solana saw strong RWA performance over the past 30 days, with distributed asset value improving to $3.48B (+35.6%), the number of holders rising to 294.6K (+8.12%), and transfer volume spiking to $8.5B (+105.28%)
Solana led all networks in daily DEX volume every day in June, with monthly volume reaching $65.43B
Solstice’s SLX token has been extended via Sunrise to liquid markets on Solana: DEXs (Titan, Birdeye, Raydium); yield protocols (Jupiter); leverage trading (Lavarage); and wallets (Solflare, Phantom)
World launched an onchain prediction market on Solana. The platform is housed in Phantom's wallet, and uses Chainlink Data Streams and Runtime Environment for data and resolution. Trades are settled in Phantom's $CASH stablecoin
Spiko launched its tokenized money market funds on Solana. The expansion gives its $2B tokenized fund platform access to Solana's DeFi ecosystem, where fund shares can be used as collateral, in lending markets, and in swaps.
Securitize went public on July 2, and tokenized its shares on Solana on the same day, adding $1.8M worth of tokenized stock to the network.
That’s all for now. Catch you again next month!
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This information is for entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered financial advice, nor should it be used to make investment decisions. Cryptocurrencies are high risk and you should consult a financial professional before making any financial decisions. Make sure you do your own research.