Summary
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BlackRock is expanding its $1.7 billion BUIDL tokenized treasury fund to the Solana blockchain, making Solana the seventh network to support the fund, which aims to offer 24/7 access to money market yields.
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This move follows Franklin Templeton’s launch of a similar product on Solana, highlighting Solana’s increasing relevance as a platform for tokenized real-world assets and competition in the tokenized money market fund space.
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BlackRock’s Solana integration underscores its growing embrace of crypto and tokenization, as CEO Larry Fink has stated tokenization is the “next step” in the evolution of financial markets following the success of Bitcoin ETFs.
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BlackRock’s BUIDL fund provides crypto traders with a novel, yield-generating alternative to traditional, non-interest-bearing stablecoins (like USDT and USDC), offering 24/7 access and aiming to overcome the limitations of conventional money market funds by leveraging blockchain technology.
In a move underscoring the growing intersection of traditional finance and blockchain technology, BlackRock, the asset management behemoth overseeing a staggering $11.6 trillion, is integrating its tokenized treasury fund, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Fund (BUIDL), with the Solana blockchain.
Fortune magazine reported this development on March 25th. Since its inception, the BUIDL fund has rapidly accumulated approximately $1.7 billion in assets under management, according to data compiled by RWA.xyz.
This integration marks Solana as the seventh blockchain platform to support the BUIDL fund. The fund is already operational across Ethereum, Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, and Polygon networks.
This strategic expansion follows closely on the heels of Franklin Templeton’s launch of its own tokenized money market offering, the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX), also on the Solana network.
Currently, Franklin Templeton’s tokenized treasury product ranks as the third-largest in the tokenized money market fund sector, trailing only BlackRock’s BUIDL and Hashnote’s USYC fund in terms of size.
BlackRock’s $1.7 Billion BUIDL Fund Expands to Solana Blockchain
The BUIDL fund distinguishes itself by offering round-the-clock accessibility, a feature contrasting sharply with conventional money market funds that are restricted to standard business hours.
This continuous operation provides cryptocurrency traders with a yield-generating option that serves as an alternative to holding non-interest-bearing stablecoins such as USDT and USDC.
Earlier this month, the BUIDL fund achieved a significant milestone, becoming the first tokenized fund originating from a major Wall Street financial institution to surpass the $1 billion mark in assets under management.
A spokesperson for Securitize, the firm providing tokenization infrastructure for BUIDL, anticipates the fund’s assets to exceed $2 billion by early April.
Michael Sonnenshein, COO at Securitize, articulated the fund’s innovative approach to Fortune, stating, “We’re effectively making money markets more dynamic and engaging, addressing and surpassing some of the inherent limitations present in their traditional structures.”
Securitize had previously announced its integration with the Solana blockchain in January.
Securitize Facilitates Solana Integration for Tokenized Real-World Assets
The company’s overarching objective is to broaden both the accessibility and the adoption of tokenized real-world assets, with Solana‘s technological framework offering the robust infrastructure necessary to facilitate this expansion.
This latest move follows BlackRock’s increasingly prominent engagement within cryptocurrency markets, most notably with the launch of its spot Bitcoin ETF in January 2024.
This ETF has proven highly successful, attracting nearly $40 billion in assets, according to data from the crypto analytics firm SoSoValue.
In January, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink articulated his perspective on the trajectory of financial markets to CNBC, stating, “ETFs represent the initial stage in a technological revolution transforming financial markets.
The subsequent stage, step two, will be the tokenization of every conceivable financial asset.”
Also Read: Ethereum ETFs Falls BlackRock Bets on Staking for Solution
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