BlackRockās Nikhil Sharma pitches tokenized money market funds as instant collateral at TOKEN2049
The asset manager's digital assets director says tokenized fund shares could be posted as collateral without redemption or multi-day cash waits
Collateral has always moved at the speed of paperwork. BlackRock thinks it can move at the speed of a blockchain.
Nikhil Sharma, BlackRock’s Director of Digital Assets, says tokenized money market funds could be posted as collateral directly. That means no redemption step and no waiting days for cash to settle.
Sharma is on the speaker lineup for TOKEN2049 Singapore 2026, set for October 7-8 at Marina Bay Sands. His focus is tokenized money market funds (tMMFs) and stablecoins.
What Sharma is actually proposing
Under the traditional model, an institution holding money market fund shares typically redeems them for cash before using that cash as collateral. The redemption and settlement cycle can take days. During that window, capital sits idle.
The tokenized version skips the detour. Fund shares exist as tokens, so the position itself can be transferred on-chain to a counterparty. The holder keeps earning the fund’s yield, and the counterparty receives an asset it can hold or move.
BlackRock’s broader aim is to let tMMF positions move directly on-chain without the usual cash settlement wait.
BlackRock’s tokenization buildout
Sharma took the digital assets director role in December 2025.
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On August 3, 2026, BlackRock launched two new tokenized funds: BSTBL and BRSRV. Both are targeting eligibility as reserve assets under the US GENIUS Act, the federal framework for stablecoins. BRSRV is built specifically for stablecoin reserves and digital-native institutions.
Both products build on BUIDL, the tokenized fund BlackRock introduced in March 2024. BUIDL currently manages around $2.5 billion in assets.
BlackRock has rolled out tokenized share classes for its European UCITS money market funds, which totaled $311 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2026.
For the operational layer, BlackRock is working with J.P. Morgan’s Kinexys platform. The collaboration supports 24/7 peer-to-peer transfer capabilities.
Why it matters for institutions and crypto markets
The collateral use case is arguably the most practical argument for tokenized funds yet. Capital that stays productive while it secures a trade is better. For institutions managing margin across multiple venues, removing a multi-day cash cycle could reduce the buffer they need to keep on hand.
Crypto markets have a direct stake in this. Exchanges, lenders and derivatives venues all need collateral, and tokenized money market fund shares offer a yield-bearing, regulated alternative to holding idle stablecoins.
If BSTBL and BRSRV achieve reserve asset status, stablecoin issuers gain a compliant home for their backing assets from the world’s largest asset manager. That eligibility is a target, not a done deal, and investors should treat it accordingly.
Firms including Fidelity and Invesco are pursuing similar tokenization efforts. Partnerships and industry trials are part of how these products are reaching professional investors.
There are open questions. Collateral only works if the receiving party accepts it, so adoption depends on exchanges, clearinghouses and counterparties agreeing to take tokenized fund shares. Legal treatment, custody arrangements and operational resilience during market stress will all get tested before this becomes routine.