BlackRock is weighing tokenized ETFs tied to real-world assets, Bloomberg reports, as Wall Street pushes deeper into blockchain-based finance.
BlackRock explores tokenizing ETFs amid Wall Street push
BlackRock is weighing the possibility of bringing some of its exchange-traded funds onto blockchains, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The world’s largest asset manager is considering tokenized products tied to real-world assets such as stocks, though any move would depend on regulatory approval, according to Bloomberg’s Olga Kharif.
BlackRock already manages the iShares Bitcoin Trust and iShares Ethereum Trust, the two largest crypto-related ETFs with $55 billion and $12.7 billion in cumulative inflows. Both reached $10 billion in assets under management in under a year — a milestone achieved by only three products to date.
The firm also runs thematic offerings such as the iShares Blockchain and Tech ETF, which invests in crypto-linked companies rather than tokens.
Growing tokenization momentum
Wall Street interest in tokenization is accelerating. Fidelity this week launched a blockchain-based version of a Treasury money market fund, while Nasdaq is seeking SEC approval to trade tokenized securities alongside equities.
BlackRock itself has experience in this area. Its USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) became the first tokenized fund to surpass $1 billion in March and has since doubled to more than $2 billion in assets, according to RWA.xyz.
Still, tokenized equities remain small. RWA data shows fewer than $500 million of such assets in circulation, even as platforms like Robinhood and Kraken experiment with onchain versions of Tesla and Apple stock.
Market skepticism
CEO Larry Fink has argued that all financial assets will eventually be tokenized. BlackRock’s crypto assets under management stood at $50 billion in the first quarter, with $3 billion in net inflows.
Yet not all observers are convinced. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said tokenization may improve financial “plumbing” but is unlikely to shift consumer demand in the way ETFs replaced mutual funds.
“I don’t see the value add for the average investor,” he wrote, suggesting tokenized ETFs may appeal mainly to existing onchain users, a “small fraction of global money.”
