Key Takeaways:
- Centrifuge tokenized Janus Henderson's AAA CLO fund as JAAA on Ethereum
- Up to $100 million deployed as leveraged collateral on Aave Horizon
- The fund received $1 billion in initial seeding from the Sky ecosystem
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Centrifuge tokenizes $1B Janus Henderson AAA CLO fund for DeFi vaults
Centrifuge tokenized Janus Henderson's AAA-rated collateralized loan obligation fund as JAAA, bringing $1 billion in institutional credit onto Ethereum for use as DeFi collateral.
The JAAA token represents shares in Janus Henderson's Anemoy AAA CLO fund, a type of instrument typically held by pension funds and insurers, according to Centrifuge. CLOs are bundles of corporate loans sliced into tranches by risk, with the AAA tranche sitting at the top of the credit quality stack — paid first and carrying the lowest default risk. The tokenization was structured through Centrifuge's on-chain platform, making the fund's shares composable within DeFi protocols on Ethereum.
Resolv has integrated JAAA as leveraged collateral on Aave Horizon, with up to $100 million deployed as of Feb. 26, according to the company. Aave Horizon launched with JAAA as one of its RWA collateral options designed for institutional stablecoin borrowing. The setup allows PrimeUSD to integrate AAA-rated credit directly into a stablecoin vault, creating a bridge between traditional credit markets and on-chain liquidity. The fund received $1 billion in initial seeding from the Sky ecosystem via Grove in mid-2025, and allocations from Ethena for collateral diversification followed in mid-2026.
JAAA became the first tokenized AAA CLO fund available through Kraken custody on June 29, giving institutional allocators regulated custodial infrastructure. For institutional allocators who need regulated custody before they can touch an asset, the Kraken milestone is a prerequisite for broader adoption.
The tokenization pushes institutional-grade debt deeper into decentralized finance, though risks remain. Regulatory clarity around tokenized securities remains a work in progress across most jurisdictions. The smart contract layer adds operational risk that traditional CLO investors have never faced, and liquidity in tokenized form may behave differently than in traditional secondary markets during periods of stress. For DeFi protocols, the integration signals that regulated, investment-grade credit is becoming a viable backstop for on-chain operations — a trend that could reshape how stablecoins and lending markets source their reserves.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
