BlackRock's BUIDL Fund Trades on Uniswap
BlackRock's tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, BUIDL, has begun trading on the decentralized exchange Uniswap. The move represents the asset manager's first formal entry into DeFi and highlights a broader institutional trend, with firms like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs also active in tokenized assets. The tokenization of U.S. Treasuries and money market funds is gaining momentum as a hedge against crypto volatility.
- The trading mechanism on Uniswap is not a public liquidity pool but an integration with UniswapX, where pre-qualified investors can trade BUIDL for USDC through a request-for-quote (RFQ) system with approved market makers. - Securitize, a digital asset securities firm, is BlackRock's tokenization and transfer agent partner, managing the issuance and whitelisting of BUIDL investors. Market makers providing liquidity on UniswapX include Flowdesk, Tokka Labs, and Wintermute. - Since launching on Ethereum in March 2024, the BUIDL fund has expanded to operate on multiple blockchains, including Solana, Avalanche, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism, with cross-chain transfers enabled by Wormhole. - BUIDL is the largest tokenized money market fund, with assets under management growing to approximately $2.9 billion, capturing a significant share of the tokenized treasury market. - The fund invests 100% of its assets in cash, U.S. Treasury bills, and repurchase agreements, aiming to maintain a stable $1 token value while distributing daily accrued dividends to investor wallets each month. - Access to the fund is restricted to qualified purchasers, requiring a minimum investment of $5 million to participate. - Underscoring its commitment to the DeFi ecosystem, BlackRock also made a strategic investment in the Uniswap ecosystem alongside the integration.
