BlackRock's BUIDL Rethinks Finance with Blockchain and Treasuries

In 2025, the tokenized treasury asset market has witnessed significant shifts in market share, largely driven by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund. As the first tokenized money market fund, BUIDL has demonstrated the potential of integrating real-world assets (RWAs) with blockchain technology. Since its launch in March 2024, the fund has grown rapidly, surging from $667 million to $1.8 billion in assets under management (AUM) within just three weeks and continuing to attract capital flow as of March 31, 2025. The fund operates on seven major blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, and Aptos, offering investors a digital representation of assets such as U.S. Treasuries and short-term cash equivalents.

BUIDL’s structure involves a special purpose vehicle (SPV) managed by BlackRock, which invests 100% of its assets in dollar-equivalent instruments. Investors receive dividends in the form of new tokens issued monthly, with the fund maintaining a stable $1 value per token. This model has drawn interest from institutional and blockchain-native participants, including Ondo Finance, which allocated $95 million of its own tokenized fund into BUIDL within a week of the fund’s launch. The fund’s success underscores a growing demand for tokenized RWAs, with market observers noting its potential to enhance liquidity, transparency, and efficiency in financial processes.

The fund’s operational efficiency is partly attributed to its use of blockchain-based settlement capabilities, allowing 24/7/365 real-time subscriptions and redemptions. This is a stark improvement over traditional financial instruments, which often involve T+3 or longer settlement periods. The tokenization process, facilitated by Securitize LLC, enables seamless compliance with U.S. regulatory requirements while maintaining the security and compliance of a “regulated asset.” The SPV structure, combined with institutional-grade custodians like Anchorage Digital Bank and Coinbase, ensures asset safety and regulatory adherence.

Circle’s collaboration with BlackRock has further expanded BUIDL’s utility by providing a USDC liquidity pool, enabling real-time exchange between the two assets. This integration has been hailed as a milestone for RWA adoption, as it facilitates a bridge between traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi). Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize, emphasized the importance of such innovations in expanding the RWA market, particularly with blockchains like Solana, known for their speed and cost efficiency. This development has also caught the attention of DeFi protocols, with ONDO Finance leveraging the BUIDL liquidity pool to enable real-time redemptions for its users.

The broader implications of BUIDL’s success extend beyond institutional adoption. As the first major asset manager to offer tokenized RWAs on public blockchains, BlackRock has demonstrated a viable path for other traditional financial institutions to follow. The fund’s growth has coincided with a broader trend of tokenized treasuries reaching a $5 billion market milestone, indicating a maturing market for real-world asset tokenization. However, challenges remain, including liquidity constraints due to the fund’s qualified investor model and potential risks associated with smart contract vulnerabilities. Despite these concerns, the fund has reinforced the role of tokenization in enhancing capital efficiency, reducing operational costs, and enabling broader participation in institutional-grade financial products.

As the RWA tokenization market continues to evolve, BlackRock’s BUIDL fund serves as a benchmark for innovation and regulatory alignment. The fund’s ability to combine the stability of traditional finance with the efficiency of blockchain has positioned it as a key player in the ongoing transformation of global financial systems. With further adoption by DeFi platforms and institutional investors, BUIDL is likely to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of asset tokenization and cross-chain financial interoperability.