BlackRock Expands Asset Tokenization
BlackRock is deepening its push into asset tokenization, now holding 10% of the supply for both tokenized gold ($XAUT) and silver ($SLVON). The move by the world's largest asset manager signals growing institutional confidence in using blockchain for real-world assets.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has championed tokenization as "the next generation for markets," comparing its potential impact to the rise of the early internet. He envisions a future where nearly all financial assets—from stocks and bonds to real estate—are recorded on shared digital ledgers, transforming market infrastructure. The firm's most significant move is the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), launched in March 2024. BUIDL is a tokenized money market fund that invests in U.S. Treasury bills and repurchase agreements, allowing institutional clients to earn a daily yield on-chain. By late 2025, BUIDL had become the largest tokenized money market fund on public blockchains, with over $2.5 billion in assets. Access is aimed at institutional players, requiring a minimum investment of $5 million from "Qualified Purchasers" as defined by U.S. securities law. The tokenized silver mentioned in the headline, $SLVON, is directly linked to BlackRock's own iShares Silver Trust (SLV) ETF. The token was launched by the firm Ondo Finance, creating a regulated, institutionally-backed digital asset that tracks the performance of the underlying ETF. This push is part of a race to capture a market for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization projected to reach $16 trillion by 2030. Currently, tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds represent a $4 billion market, while tokenized commodities like gold and silver account for around $1 billion. The ultimate goal for BlackRock is to modernize financial "plumbing." By moving assets onto blockchains, the firm aims to achieve near-instantaneous settlement, reduce counterparty risk, and eliminate many of the intermediaries required in traditional finance.
