Blackrock starts launching tokenised ETFs into the market

By Matthew Griffin Connected Society 2nd September 2025

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Blackrock knows that by Tokenising ETFs it can make its products available 247 and make them easier for international clients to buy into.

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BlackRock is exploring how to give one of Wall Street’s biggest investment products a digital makeover. The world’s largest asset manager is weighing ways to make exchange-traded funds available as tokens on the blockchain, according to people familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified citing confidential information. The New York-based firm is working on tokenizing funds tied to real-world assets, such as stocks, subject to regulatory considerations, the people said.

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In 2024, BlackRock launched a tokenized money-market fund, known as BUIDL, which has grown to more than $2 billion and is popular on crypto platforms. It also follows the blockbuster debut of its spot Bitcoin ETF, which quickly became one of the most popular such funds in history.

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Tokenization involves creating a digital version of a traditional asset that can move on blockchain systems. For ETFs, it could mean trading beyond Wall Street’s set hours, making US products easier to access abroad, and creating potential new uses as collateral in crypto networks.

That idea is drawing increased attention across the industry. Tokenized share classes of funds are seen as an early step toward a broader migration of markets onto blockchain, a shift proponents say could enable instant settlement, fractional shares, and more. Money-market funds from the likes of Franklin Templeton and BlackRock opened the door. Next, ETFs, already designed as flexible wrappers, may emerge as a proving ground for this transition. BlackRock has been a big booster of digital assets.

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Beyond BUIDL, the firm has tested tokenized fund shares in trades on JPMorgan’s Onyx, now known as Kinexys, infrastructure and has positioned itself as an early adopter of digital-settlement models. The firm’s bullish posture is underscored by Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink, who has said every financial asset can be tokenized. He reiterated the view in his 2025 annual letter to investors.

It comes as exchanges like Kraken and Robinhood offer tokenized stocks overseas and as startups pilot similar services in controlled settings.

Such a shift faces big hurdles. ETFs today settle through Wall Street’s clearinghouses, while blockchain-traded tokens move instantly and around the clock. Reconciling those systems raises questions for regulators and custodians. Still, the climate has grown more permissive, with policymakers under the Trump era signalling openness to programs that allow firms to test blockchain-based markets in contained environments.

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The market for tokenized assets is still small — about $28 billion, according to tracker rwa.xyz — compared with the multi-trillion-dollar US ETF industry. Still, BlackRock’s exploration underscores how mainstream finance is beginning to test whether the blockchain can rewire market infrastructure, from collateral flows to settlement speed.

The interest comes as Nasdaq has asked regulators to let investors trade tokenized versions of stocks on its exchange, a move that could mark the first major test of blockchain technology inside the core of US equity markets.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.