Kavak, one of the largest Latam-based startups in the used car business, has issued tokenized debt to invest in the Brazilian car market. According to local sources, the company has already tokenized almost million in commercial notes using Liqi, a tokenization platform, and aims to issue over million. Kavak Bets on Tokenized Debt […]
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Mastercard, Visa, JPMorgan, and Other Major Banks Explore Tokenized Asset Settlements
Several major financial firms are collaborating to test the benefits of shared-ledger technology for jointly settling tokenized assets like commercial bank money and various securities. The initiative, known as the Regulated Settlement Network, is a proof-of-concept designed to expedite and secure cross-border transactions using a singular system for tokenized assets. This trial is an extension […]
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Blackrock’s BUIDL Fund Overtakes Franklin Templeton to Become Largest RWA Tokenized Offering
Based on the most recent figures, Blackrock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, also known as BUIDL, has expanded to 1.76 million, overtaking Franklin Templeton’s onchain investment vehicle, BENJI, as the largest real-world asset (RWA) tokenized offering. Blackrock’s Digital Fund Surpasses BENJI as Leader in Tokenized Treasury Offerings Blackrock’s BUIDL has now eclipsed all other tokenized […]
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BlackRock’s Tokenized Fund News Sends Hedera (HBAR) Soaring 100%, The Reason May Surprise You
In a surprising turn of events, the native token of the decentralized ledger platform Hedera, HBAR, experienced a significant price surge of over 100% during the early hours of Tuesday. Starting from a low of .0875, HBAR skyrocketed to reach the .1821 mark by Wednesday.
The sudden surge was triggered by the news of BlackRock’s tokenized fund, BUIDL, which generated high expectations among HBAR investors regarding a potential collaboration between the prominent asset manager and the Hedera protocol.
Not Directly Connected To Hedera?
Launched by BlackRock in March 2024, BUIDL operates as a tokenized fund on the Ethereum blockchain, providing US dollar yields through tokenization.
Initially, an announcement led to confusion among investors, who mistakenly believed that BlackRock would directly tokenize the fund on the Hedera network. This misunderstanding triggered a significant surge in the HBAR price.
Upon closer examination of the announcement, it became clear that BlackRock and Hedera had no direct connection, although the initial reaction to the news was noteworthy.
Crypto analysts, who use the pseudonym “CrediBull” on social media site X (formerly Twitter), shed light on the situation, emphasizing that explicit permission from BlackRock was unnecessary to list tokenized versions of their funds.
It was not a deliberate decision by BlackRock to tokenize on Hedera; rather, an existing platform on the network took the liberty of tokenizing one of BlackRock’s funds. However, for the analyst, the fact that a platform on Hedera was among the first to tokenize a BlackRock fund reflects the platform’s leadership in the space.
Analyst Clarifies Misconception
Further examination reveals that Archax, the company behind the tokenized BlackRock fund on Hedera, is a portfolio company of ABRDN Investments, the largest asset manager in the UK, with approximately 0 billion in assets under management (AUM).
Additionally, CrediBull emphasizes that BlackRock happens to be the fourth-largest shareholder of ABRDN. Notably, around ten months ago, Archax tokenized one of ABRDN’s money market funds, preceding their launch of the BlackRock fund.
An interview by the Head of Digital Assets at ABRDN clarifies their involvement in the tokenization process on Archax. A “distribution agreement” was signed permitting the tokenization to proceed. If a similar agreement were reached with BlackRock, it would imply the asset manager’s endorsement of the product.
Ultimately, the interview with the head of digital assets at ABRDN underscores the fact that significant players are utilizing and contributing to the growth of Hedera behind the scenes.
Following the clarification of the situation, the price of HBAR has retraced to .1199. Nevertheless, it remains up 8% over the past 24 hours and has recorded an impressive gain of nearly 60% in the past seven days.
CoinGecko data highlights a substantial surge in HBAR’s trading volume, which has increased by over 1,100% in the past few days. This surge in trading volume indicates the widespread confusion sparked by the initial news announcement.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Woo X Introduces Tokenized US Treasury Bills for Retail Investors
Woo X has launched a new product offering retail customers exposure to tokenized U.S. Treasury bills, the first of its kind for a cryptocurrency exchange. The product, called RWA Earn Vaults, was developed with London-based Opentrade and provides an interest-bearing account backed by U.S. Treasuries. This initiative aims to blend traditional financial securities with the […]
Bitcoin News
HSBC to Expand Tokenized Asset Offerings — CEO Says He’s ‘Very Comfortable’ With Tokenization
Hong Kong’s leading commercial bank, HSBC, continues to invest in its tokenization product lineup. The bank’s CEO, Noel Quinn, stated that he is “very comfortable with the concept of tokenization.” He indicated that the bank will look at ways of tokenizing assets backed by “real” assets. HSBC’s CEO Discusses Tokenization Plans Hong Kong’s leading commercial […]
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Brazilian BV Bank Tests Tokenized Model for Vehicle Sales
BV Bank, a Brazilian bank leader in vehicle loans, is running a pilot that uses tokenization to manage vehicle financing and sales operations. The first phase of the tests involves automating consumer-to-consumer vehicle sales processes, including the delivery of tokenized money in exchange for the ownership of the vehicle. Brazilian BV Bank Pilots Tokenization Model […]
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HSBC Launches Tokenized Gold Product Targeting Hong Kong Market
HSBC, the London-based financial institution, launched the first bank-backed tokenized gold product for its customers in Hong Kong. HSBC Gold Token will allow retail investors to purchase tokenized gold from their smartphones using the bank’s online app, democratizing access to these gold contracts for retail customers and leveraging distributed ledger technology. HSBC Debuts Tokenized Gold […]
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Tokenized US Treasury Bonds Hit $1 Billion Milestone on Public Blockchains
This week, 21.co’s onchain data analyst Tom Wan presented figures revealing that tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds on public blockchains have surpassed the billion mark. The analyst highlighted that Blackrock’s BUIDL experienced significant growth of 400%, escalating from million to 0 million within a span of a week. The Rise of Tokenized Real-World Assets […]
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Ondo Finance Joins BlackRock Tokenized Fund As Inflows Surpass $160M
BlackRock, one of the largest asset managers globally, has witnessed notable success with its newly launched tokenized money-market fund, BUIDL. The fund, which records shared ownership on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, has attracted over 0 million in just one week since its debut.
BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund
According to a Bloomberg report, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) primarily invests in cash, US Treasury bills, and repurchase agreements. The fund rewards its holders with a cryptocurrency, BUIDL, valued at per token.
Shareholders can transfer these tokens to other validated addresses using digital wallets approved by Securitize, BlackRock’s partner for the investment vehicle. The tokenized fund serves several key use cases, including treasury management for crypto companies, support for derivatives of Treasury bills, and acting as collateral for borrowing and trading, thus providing an alternative to stablecoins.
It is worth noting that Securitize Markets, an SEC-registered alternative trading system, plays a critical role in facilitating the transfer of tokens between market participants.
While the SEC has recently increased its scrutiny of Ethereum’s native token, ETH, Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo emphasizes that the investigations should be separate from the underlying blockchain infrastructure. Domingo also highlights the battle-tested nature of the public Ethereum blockchain, which provides a “robust foundation” for tokenization activities.
As previously reported by our sister website, Bitcoinist, BlackRock has emerged as an advocate for cryptocurrencies and tokenization within mainstream financial institutions. Chairman and CEO Larry Fink believes every financial asset will eventually be tokenized.
The company’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has already attracted more than billion in inflows since its launch as an exchange-traded fund (ETF) in January. With the BUIDL fund’s launch, BlackRock continues to demonstrate its willingness to explore new digital asset solutions.
Ondo Finance To Transfer Million In Assets To BlackRock
Ondo Finance, a platform specializing in tokenized real-world assets (RWA), has moved million worth of assets to BlackRock’s BUIDL fund. This strategic move enables Ondo Finance to facilitate instant settlements for its US Treasury-backed token, OUSG.
This makes Ondo Finance a major participant in the BUIDL ecosystem. According to on-chain researcher Tom Wan, it currently holds million worth of BUIDL tokens, which, in addition to those above million, will result in a substantial 0 million worth of BUIDL tokens.
The researcher noted that this collaboration further strengthens the tokenized US Treasury market, with the potential to reach billion in value. In its announcement, the team behind the Ondo Finance platform summarized:
We’re excited to see BlackRock embracing securities tokenization with the launch of BUIDL, especially its broad cooperation with ecosystem participants. Not only does this further validate our original concept of a tokenized US Treasury fund, but it also bolsters our thesis that tokenization of traditional securities on public blockchains represents the next major step in the evolution of financial markets.
At the time of writing, the native token of Ondo Finance, ONDO, is trading at .909, exhibiting a surge of over 4% within the past 24 hours. This positive momentum adds to its impressive price uptrend of 115% recorded over the past 30 days.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com