Blackrock, the world's largest asset manager, has launched its first tokenized fund, the Blackrock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity (BUIDL) fund, which will operate on the Ethereum blockchain. The new fund will invest in US Treasury bills, repos, and cash, offering a stable value of $1 per token and dividends in the form of tokenized USD yield to qualified investors.
According to Bernstein, an investment research and institutional asset management broker, the move represents a major shift towards the digitization of traditional financial assets. The fund will leverage blockchain technology to increase global accessibility, reduce operating costs, and streamline settlement processes.
BUIDL's creation is a part of a growing trend towards the tokenization of securities, signaling a new phase akin to the ETF boom of the last two decades, the report notes.
To facilitate this initiative, Blackrock has partnered with key players in both the traditional financial and crypto sectors. Namely, Securitize will act as the tokenization platform and transfer & placement agent, while firms such as Anchorage, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), BitGo, and Fireblocks will provide digital asset custody and settlement services. BNY Mellon has been tasked with bridging the gap between traditional and digital finance by custodying the fund's underlying assets.
The choice of Ethereum for the public blockchain reflects the importance of interoperability and the potential for on-chain fund redemptions and stablecoin integrations. Bernstein analysts suggest that the venture could lead to new asset classes becoming interoperable on the blockchain.
“While tokenised money market funds are not new (Templeton launched it earlier), launch of BUIDL is significant in the way Blackrock has brought in key ecosystem partners from both the traditional world and the crypto world. This would facilitate interoperability between both sides and would comfort more traditional institutional customers to adopt on-chain funds, without major friction points,” analysts wrote.
Overall, the launch of Blackrock's first tokenized fund on a public blockchain is notable for its integration of major ecosystem partners from both traditional finance and the cryptocurrency industry. This approach not only brings legitimacy to public blockchain networks but also opens up new avenues for asset management.