BlackRock files with SEC to offer fund with tokenisation firm Securitize

BLACKROCK is preparing to offer a fund through a partnership with digital asset specialist Securitize, making it the latest Wall Street behemoth to experiment with putting money on blockchains.

The world’s largest asset manager said it plans to launch “BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund” with Securitize, a digital-asset firm specialising in tokenisation, according to a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dated Mar 14 that was listed on the agency’s website on Monday (Mar 18).

The minimum investment accepted from any outside investors is set at US$100,000, according to the filing. There are few details in the filing regarding the fund, but Securitize already is working with KKR, Hamilton Lane and others for tokenised funds. Crypto sleuths say they have already found an unconfirmed digital wallet on the Ethereum blockchain marked as for BlackRock’s tokenised fund. Representatives at BlackRock and Securitize did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tokenisation is a method of purchasing securities in the form of digital assets using blockchains. The process has been promoted heavily recently as one of the few viable use cases for blockchains. Before BlackRock, other financial heavyweights including Brevan Howard, and KKR all have announced efforts to tokenise certain parts of their funds. Citigroup has estimated the tokenisation market could swell to US$5 trillion by 2030. BLOOMBERG