In a landmark move signaling deepening institutional adoption of decentralized finance (DeFi), global asset management giant BlackRock has confirmed plans to list its tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, BUIDL, on the leading decentralized exchange Uniswap. The strategic initiative, developed in collaboration with digital asset securities firm Securitize, aims to facilitate seamless secondary trading among institutional investors.
The BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) is not a cryptocurrency but a tokenized representation of a fund holding cash, U.S. Treasury bills, and repurchase agreements. Each BUIDL token corresponds to a share of the fund, offering a stable value pegged to the U.S. dollar while leveraging the Ethereum blockchain for issuance and transfer. Launched in March 2024, BUIDL has grown to become the largest tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, with nearly $2.2 billion in total value locked (TVL).
The listing on Uniswap marks a pivotal evolution from BUIDL's initial, more permissioned environment to a public, permissionless decentralized exchange (DEX). This provides institutional holders with peer-to-peer trading in a decentralized, 24/7 market without a centralized intermediary, specifically through UniswapX, a system that sources quotes from approved market makers.
In a related and highly strategic move, BlackRock disclosed a strategic investment in Uniswap and purchased an undisclosed amount of UNI, the protocol's native governance token. This acquisition grants BlackRock governance rights, allowing it to participate in protocol upgrade proposals that could affect the trading environment for BUIDL.
The market reaction was immediate and positive. Following the news, reported initially by Fortune, the price of UNI surged approximately 25%, jumping from around $3.35 to over $4.18, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s global head of digital assets, stated, "This collaboration with Uniswap Labs alongside Securitize is a notable step in the convergence of tokenized assets with decentralized finance. The integration of BUIDL into UniswapX marks a major leap forward in the interoperability of tokenized USD yield funds with stablecoins."
Financial analysts view this as part of an irreversible trend. A report from Bernstein noted, "The convergence of TradFi and DeFi is accelerating. BlackRock’s actions are a clear signal that tokenization of funds and on-chain trading are moving from pilot phases to core operational strategy."
The initiative, requiring users to be pre-qualified and whitelisted through Securitize, also aligns with growing regulatory clarity, providing a more stable framework for institutional engagement. The move is seen as a powerful endorsement of DeFi infrastructure, likely to encourage other major asset managers to explore similar on-chain pathways, potentially driving increased TVL in DeFi and bolstering the utility of governance tokens.
