BlackRock leads $47M funding round for RWA tokenization firm Securitize

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BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has led a $47 million investment round in Securitize, a firm specializing in the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA). The strategic capital infusion, announced on May 1, marks a significant milestone in the development of digital asset securities.

Securitize plans to allocate the funding towards product development, international expansion, and enhancing partnerships across the financial industry. The investment round also saw participation from notable firms and investors such as Aptos Labs, Circle, Paxos, Hamilton Lane, ParaFi Capital, and Tradeweb Markets.

“In our view, the transformative potential of blockchain technology to reshape the future of finance in general – and tokenization in particular – is promising,” said Carlos Domingo, co-founder of Securitize.

As part of the investment, Joseph Chalom, BlackRock’s Global Head of Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships, will join Securitize’s Board of Directors. Chalom emphasized BlackRock’s belief in the potential of tokenization to drive significant transformation in capital markets infrastructure, stating that the investment in Securitize is another step in the evolution of the firm’s digital assets strategy.

In March, BlackRock collaborated with Securitize to launch its first tokenized fund on Ethereum, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL). The fund offers a stable $1 value (per token) and distributes dividends directly to investors’ wallets as new tokens on a monthly basis.

By investing primarily in cash (as claimed), US Treasury bills, and repurchase agreements, BUIDL aims to provide yield while maintaining liquidity on the blockchain.

As of May 1, BUIDL has become the world’s largest treasury fund tokenized on a blockchain, surpassing Franklin Templeton’s Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund in market capitalization. Since its launch six weeks ago, BUIDL’s market capitalization has surged from $274 million to $375 million in April, representing a 36.5% increase.

This growth aligns with a broader trend towards debt-based, high-yield investments. As of April 26, the total value locked in tokenized real-world assets reached a record $8 billion, marking a nearly 60% rise since February. Prospective investors should note that these figures exclude fiat-backed stablecoins and encompass various assets (commodities, securities, and real estate tokenization protocols).

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