BlackRock’s Expansion in the Crypto Industry
BlackRock, the world’s largest investment firm managing over $11 trillion in assets, has made significant moves to increase its presence in the crypto industry on March 25. These moves include extending its tokenized money market fund to the Solana blockchain and introducing its first Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) in the European market.
Bitcoin ETP Launch
BlackRock has launched its iShares Bitcoin ETP across major European markets, with the product beginning trading on March 25 on Germany’s Xetra exchange, Euronext Paris, and Euronext Amsterdam. The ETP trades under the ticker IB1T on Xetra and Paris and BTCN in Amsterdam.
- The ETP debuts with a reduced fee of 0.15%, effective until 2026, after which fees will increase to 0.25%.
- BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in the US manages over $50 billion in assets.
- IBIT holds approximately 2.9% of the total circulating Bitcoin supply.
BUIDL’s Solana Expansion
BlackRock’s tokenized fund, the USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), is now live on Solana, marking the seventh blockchain to support the fund. Previous rollouts include Ethereum, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Aptos, Polygon, and Optimism.
Securitize, BlackRock’s partner for BUIDL, expanded the product to Solana due to the blockchain network’s fast transaction speeds and low network fees. Carlos Domingo, Co-founder and CEO of Securitize, sees this move as a natural progression in the market for RWAs and tokenized treasuries.
- BUIDL tokenizes traditional money market funds, enabling blockchain-based settlement and 24/7 trading.
- BUIDL manages over $1.7 billion in assets, primarily in cash and short-term US Treasury bills.
- Ethereum hosts the majority of assets, with other supported blockchains holding smaller amounts.
Conclusion
BlackRock’s expansion into the crypto industry through the launch of a Bitcoin ETP in Europe and the extension of its tokenized fund to Solana demonstrates the firm’s commitment to embracing blockchain technology and digital assets.
