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Author: Dong Jing, Wall Street News
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, explores the possibility of converting exchange-traded funds (ETFs) into blockchain tokens, a move that could revolutionize the way one of Wall Street’s most important investment products works.
On September 12, according to Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter revealed that the company is studying how to tokenize funds linked to real-world assets such as stocks.BlackRock has previously had successful precedents in the digital asset field.
The company’s tokenized money market fund BUIDL launched in 2024 has grown to more than $2 billion, making it very popular on cryptocurrency platforms.In addition, the launch of its spot Bitcoin ETF has also achieved great success, quickly becoming one of the most popular funds of this type in history.
Reported thatETF tokenization may lead to changes such as extended trading hours beyond regular Wall Street time, easier access to U.S. products by overseas investors, and new uses as collateral in crypto networks.
Analysis points out that this innovation is attracting the attention of the entire industry and is seen as an important step in the market’s migration to blockchain.BlackRock’s exploration highlights the trend of mainstream financial institutions starting to test blockchain technology to transform market infrastructure.
The core advantages of tokenization technology
Tokenization involves creating digital versions of traditional assets that enable them to flow on blockchain systems.For ETFs, this technology may enable 24-hour trading, breaking the limit on fixed trading hours on Wall Street.
In addition, tokenization can make US financial products more accessible to overseas investors and create potential new uses as collateral in the crypto network.
支持者认为，向区块链的迁移可以实现即时结算、股份拆分等功能。Money market funds have already opened the way for this transformation, and flexible design ETFs could be a test site for this transition.
BlackRock has been an active driver of digital assets.In addition to the BUIDL fund, the company has also tested tokenized fund shares trading on JPMorgan’s Onyx (now known as Kinexys) infrastructure and positioned itself as an early adopter of the digital settlement model.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink stressed the company’s optimism, saying every financial asset can be tokenized and reiterated that view in an annual letter to investors in 2025.This statement further highlights BlackRock’s confidence in blockchain technology to transform the financial market.
Interest in the industry is heating up.Money market funds of companies such as Franklin Templeton and BlackRock have opened up the way for this, and ETFs, as relatively flexible investment tools, may become a test site for this transformation.
Exchanges such as Kraken and Robinhood have already offered tokenized stocks overseas, and startups are piloting similar services in controlled environments.
Facing settlement system and regulatory challenges
According to reports, this transformation faces major obstacles.Currently, ETFs are settled through Wall Street Clearing House, while the tokens traded by blockchain flow instantly and around the clock.Coordinating these systems creates problems for regulators and trustees.
but,The regulatory environment is becoming more relaxed.In the Trump era, policy makers were open to projects that allowed companies to test blockchain-based markets in controlled environments.
Meanwhile, Nasdaq has asked regulators to allow investors to trade tokenized versions of stocks on their exchanges, which could mark the first major test of blockchain technology at the heart of the U.S. stock market.
Previous reports, the CEO of Nasdaq’s latest public statement said that Nasdaq will move towards stock tokenization, directly embed blockchain technology into the core securities trading system, and will no longer be limited to over-the-counter or affiliated markets.The trading time will gradually move towards 24 hours a day, five days a week, or even around the next 7 days.
Analysts point out that although the tokenized asset market is still small,BlackRock’s exploration shows mainstream finance is beginning to test whether blockchain can rebuild market infrastructure, with fundamental changes from collateral flow to settlement speeds.
