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BlackRock wants to expand beyond its BUIDL tokenized money market fund and bring crypto ETFs, stocks, and others on-chain. Is the financial market revolution here?
BlackRock is reportedly exploring expanding its tokenized product line to cover its popular crypto and other exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
According to a report by Bloomberg, the world’s largest asset manager is mulling going all in on the segment and bringing even stocks on-chain to be traded as digital tokens.
However, the plan would be subject to regulatory approval, per the report, citing people familiar with the matter.
BlackRock’s crypto bet
In less than two years since launching its spot Bitcoin [BTC] and Ethereum [ETH] ETFs, BlackRock’s crypto holdings have surged to $100 billion.
Its first tokenized money market fund, BUIDL (BlackRock USD Institutional Liquidity Fund), was launched in March 2024.
Now, the product has a market cap of $2.2 billion, held by 90 firms and is spread across six chains. Early this year, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said,
‘Every asset can be tokenized…If that happens, investing will be revolutionized. Markets would never need to close. Settlements would be instantaneous.”
He added that it would be the most ‘disruptive innovation since ETFs.’
However, some critics still questioned the value of such a move. According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the ‘on-chain’ group was still too small to warrant the hype.
“I don’t see the value add for the consumer to get them to switch. ETFs are always underestimated.”
Source: X
Interestingly, Nasdaq also asked for the SEC to allow it to list tokenized equities with equal rights as traditional shareholders.
That said, tokenized stocks will still be securities, according to SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce. Hence, they must still follow securities law.
But the regulators are racing to offer clear rules for the road amid increasing interest in the segment.