BlackRock Debuts $100 Million Tokenized Asset Fund on Ethereum

By: Eva Baxter

The largest global asset management firm, BlackRock, has launched a tokenized asset fund named BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, according to a March 19 SEC filing. The fund, registered in the British Virgin Islands, was developed in collaboration with San Francisco-based company Securitize, which specializes in asset tokenization.

The fund's specifics, including the asset classes it aims to tokenize, remain undisclosed as of now. However, blockchain data reveals an initial capital seeding of $100 million in USDC on the Ethereum blockchain. This move reflects BlackRock's growing interest in real-world asset tokenization, aiming to merge digital assets' potential with conventional finance to improve transactional efficiencies and streamline settlement processes.

This move has spurred a positive response from the market, with platforms like Ondo Finance experiencing a spike in value. With this initiative, BlackRock emerges as a pioneer in combining digital assets with traditional financial services and driving institutional investments in blockchain technology.

In addition to launching the Digital Liquidity Fund, BlackRock has also ventured into digital assets with its spot Bitcoin ETF, 'IBIT', seeing remarkable performance. The firm also has a pending Ethereum ETF application and has expressed bullish views towards blockchain technology and crypto.