BlackRock Unveils Mystery Crypto Fund: Tokenized Assets Take Center Stage With Securitize

Key Takeaways

• BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund hints at a move into tokenizing real-world assets with Securitize.
• The fund and a multi-million stablecoin transfer to Securitize suggest a broader crypto strategy for BlackRock.
• This follows BlackRock’s successful Bitcoin ETF launch and an Ethereum ETF filing.

BlackRock has announced  the creation of the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, as revealed in an SEC filing.

This new fund, established in the British Virgin Islands, is being launched in collaboration with the asset tokenization company Securitize. The move could, therefore, potentially mark a significant step into the digital asset space for the investment management behemoth.

BlackRock Goes Deeper into Crypto

BlackRock’s SEC filing  by for its USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, hints at an interest in asset tokenization. However, specific assets were not disclosed in the document.

Securitize’s involvement suggests a focus on real-world asset tokenization (RWA), indicating a move towards representing a variety of assets via blockchain tokens.

Following the announcement , Ondo Finance’s token, which operates a RWA platform, saw a significant price surge, indicating market excitement around potential intersection of traditional finance and blockchain technology.

Blockchain data  hinted at a significant move of $100 million in Circle’s USDC stablecoin to an address linked with a Securitize deployer. As a result, this sparked speculation about a potential seed investment in the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund.

Tokenization Next Frontier After Billion-Dollar Bitcoin ETF Launch

This speculation aligns with BlackRock’s increasing involvement in digital asset funds, including the launch of a spot-based Bitcoin ETF in January that quickly gathered over $15 billion in assets under management, and a filing for a spot Ether ETF.

In a January CNBC interview, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink discussed  the future of finance. He claimed that Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs would both be precursors of a broader move towards asset tokenization. Fink also expressed strong belief in tokenization as the next major development in the financial sector, indicating BlackRock’s strategic direction in embracing digital assets.

Tokenization of real-world assets merges digital assets with traditional finance by integrating traditional assets into blockchain technology. This approach, therefore, aims to enhance settlement speeds and efficiency.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF Surges with Record $586M Inflow

Since its approval two months ago, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has emerged as a leading choice for investors seeking exposure to Bitcoin’s price fluctuations, with a notable $586 million influx on March 13th, equivalent to 8,017 BTC. This surge increased its total net inflow to over $12 billion, highlighting its popularity.

Overall, the sector saw $683 million poured  into spot Bitcoin ETFs. This made a sharp contrast with Grayscale’s GBTC, which experienced a $276 million withdrawal.

Fidelity’s FBTC, ARK 21Shares’s ARKB, and Franklin Templeton’s EZBC also saw significant inflows, as well as VanEck’s HODL, which recently eliminated its fee to attract $118.8 million in two days.

About the Author

Teuta Franjkovic

Teuta is a seasoned writer and editor with more than 15 years of experience. She has expertise in covering macroeconomics and technology as well as the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries. She has worked for several publications as a journalist and editor, including Forbes, Bloomberg, CoinTelegraph, Coin Rivet, CoinSpeaker, VRWorld and Arcane Bear. Teuta began her professional career in 2005, working as a lifestyle writer at Cosmopolitan in Croatia. From there, she branched out to several other publications, covering mainly business and the economy. She then turned her attention to the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain, believing that crypto is among the most important inventions in the history of humanity. Her involvement in fintech began in 2014 and she has since lent her expertise in writing, editing and gathering information about the world of crypto, blockchain, NFTs and Web3. An all-round news hound, mentor, editor, and writer, Teuta enjoys teamwork and good communication. She holds a WSET2 diploma and has a thing for chablis, punkrock music and shoes. She also holds a double MA in Political science and Entrepreneurship.

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