BlackRock is expanding its presence in the stablecoin sector with a redesigned money market fund designed to serve stablecoin issuers.
The $13.5 trillion asset manager said the revamped fund, called the BlackRock Select Treasury Based Liquidity Fund (BSTBL), will help manage reserves for companies behind US dollar-pegged stablecoins, offering them a safe place to park customer funds.
“We want to be — and we believe we are — a preeminent reserve manager” for stablecoin issuers, Jon Steel, the global head of product and platform for BlackRock’s cash management business, told CNBC.
BlackRock noted that the offering aligns with the GENIUS Act, a law signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year that created the first US regulatory framework for stablecoins.
BlackRock Restructures Fund for Stablecoin Reserves
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, BlackRock has renamed and restructured its money market fund, dubbed the BlackRock Liquid Federal Trust Fund, which previously invested 100% of its total assets in cash, US Treasury bills and notes.
The changes, approved by the company’s board, took effect on Tuesday. The fund will now invest entirely in short-term US Treasury securities and overnight repurchase agreements, making it an ultra-safe, highly liquid vehicle aimed at institutional investors, including stablecoin issuers, according to BlackRock.
The adjustments also include longer trading hours (until 5:00 pm Eastern Time) and later valuation times.
In a summary prospectus, BlackRock shared a breakdown of the fund’s fees and operating expenses, including a 0.21% management fee, 0.10% shareholder servicing fee and total expenses of 0.27% after waivers. It also shows a fee waiver agreement running through June 30, 2026.
BlackRock Aims to Attract More Stablecoin Issuers
BlackRock already manages reserves for Circle, the issuer of the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, through a long-standing partnership that has grown rapidly as stablecoin adoption expands. The new BSTBL fund aims to bring that model to more issuers as demand for regulated, yield-bearing reserve options grows.
Citi analysts recently projected that stablecoin issuance could rise from $280 billion today to $4 trillion by 2030, underscoring the market’s explosive potential.