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.
