BlackRock’s BUIDL Hits $500M Milestone, Leads Surging Tokenized Treasury Market
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has achieved a significant milestone in the rapidly evolving world of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). The company’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, known as BUIDL, has surpassed $500 million in market value, becoming the first tokenized treasury product to reach this threshold.
Launched just four months ago in March 2024, BUIDL’s swift ascent to the top of the tokenized treasury market underscores the growing institutional interest in blockchain-based financial products. As of July 8, 2024, BUIDL held $502.8 million worth of tokenized U.S. Treasuries, according to Ethereum blockchain data from Etherscan.
The fund’s growth has been fueled by adoption from various decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and digital asset brokers. Ondo Finance and Mountain Protocol have integrated BUIDL as a backing asset for their yield products, while FalconX and Hidden Road have added the token to their list of collateral assets for institutional investor clients.
The rise of BUIDL is part of a broader trend in the tokenization of real-world assets, particularly U.S. Treasuries. The overall tokenized treasury market has more than doubled this year, growing from $780 million in January to $1.8 billion as of early July, according to data from rwa.xyz. BlackRock’s offering now claims approximately 27% of this expanding market.
Other major players in the space have also seen significant inflows. Franklin Templeton’s offering grew by 16% to $400 million, while Hashnote and OpenEden experienced growth of 40% and 89%, respectively, over the past month.
The success of BUIDL and similar products reflects a growing appetite for low-risk, blockchain-based instruments that allow investors to earn stable yields without leaving the crypto ecosystem. It also aligns with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s January statement that blockchain tokenization could make capital markets more efficient.
As the tokenized treasury market continues to expand, it’s clear that traditional financial institutions and blockchain technology are increasingly converging. This trend is likely to drive further innovation and growth in the broader tokenized real-world asset market, which Boston Consulting Group estimates could reach $16 trillion by 2030.
