BlackRock CEO Building Tokenization Tech for Digital Assets

BlackRock is developing proprietary technology for tokenizing traditional assets as CEO Larry Fink doubles down on bringing markets on-chain. The world's largest asset manager disclosed plans during its third-quarter earnings call, signaling major institutional adoption ahead.

Fink stated the firm aims to tokenize all assets with multiple intermediaries to reduce fees and broaden market access. The company manages $13.46 trillion in assets and reported $61 million in revenue from digital asset products. Teams across BlackRock are exploring how tokenization can enhance efficiency.

The asset manager already issues the largest spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds in the United States. These products hold $93 billion and $17 billion in assets under management, respectively. BlackRock also operates the $2.8 billion BUIDL fund, the leading tokenized money market product issued with Securitize.

Tokenization Potential

Fink emphasized real estate as one sector where tokenization could eliminate costly intermediaries. Since every layer involved in property transactions charges fees, tokenization could make home ownership more affordable. Digital representations of assets could streamline processes and reduce expenses across multiple asset classes.

"Young people" are heavily adopting tokenized products, according to Fink. Introducing traditional assets through digital formats earlier could help investors prepare for retirement and other life events. The CEO said BlackRock is having conversations with all major financial platforms about digital wallet integration.

Investment and Future Plans

The firm led a $47 million funding round in Securitize this year, betting on tokenization gaining mainstream traction. BlackRock's Global Head of Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships called the investment another step in the company's evolving digital assets strategy. The BUIDL fund operates across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana and Avalanche.

Fink has championed tokenization since 2022 as the future of markets. His continued advocacy serves as a potential indicator for how leading financial institutions may adopt digital assets over time. BlackRock's total assets under management grew to $13.4 trillion in Q3 from $11.4 trillion the previous year.

"I do believe we have some exciting announcements in the coming years on how we could play a larger role on this whole idea of the tokenization and digitization of all assets," Fink said. The CEO suggested developments may take time as the firm builds its own technology infrastructure for digital asset integration.