2025-03-28
BlackRock is deepening its presence in
blockchain finance by expanding its tokenized money market fund, BUIDL, to the Solana
blockchain.
Launched in March 2024, BUIDL offers
institutional investors on-chain access to U.S. dollar yields with daily
dividends and near-instant transfers.
It now operates across seven
blockchains, including Ethereum, Avalanche, and Polygon.
The expansion, announced by tech
partner Securitize, aims to leverage Solana’s low fees and fast settlement
speeds, giving investors more flexibility.
The expansion comes amid rising demand
for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, where traditional assets like Treasury
bonds are brought on-chain. BUIDL holds $1.7 billion in assets—primarily
Treasuries and cash—and is expected to cross $2 billion in early April.
BlackRock’s push reflects a trend in
traditional finance embracing blockchain.
BUIDL outpaces competitors like Franklin
Templeton’s on-chain fund and Hashnote’s yield coin, capturing over $235
million in inflows in the past 30 days alone, per RWA.xyz.
Meanwhile, BlackRock also launched a Bitcoin
ETP in Europe, expanding its global crypto footprint.
Its U.S. Bitcoin ETF, iShares Bitcoin
Trust, now holds over $50 billion in assets, representing around 2.7% of all
Bitcoin.
CEO Larry Fink calls tokenization the
next big step after ETFs, saying: “Step two is going to be the tokenization of
every financial asset.”
BlackRock's BUIDL, formally known as
the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, is the
company's first tokenized fund, launched in March 2024.
The fund is the pioneer in integrating
traditional finance with blockchain technology by using various blockchain networks
to tokenize shares in the fund.
The fund uses tokens to represent
shares. Invests in low-risk assets such as cash, U.S. Treasury bills,
short-term debt securities, and repurchase agreements. Assets are managed by
BlackRock Financial Management, with BNY Mellon acting as custodian.
