In the latest sign of the rapid convergence of Wall Street and crypto, the world’s largest asset manager is turning to decentralized finance, or DeFi. BlackRock revealed on Wednesday that it will bring its Treasury-backed BUIDL digital token to Uniswap, a leading DeFi platform, where it will be bought and sold by institutional traders. As part of the tie-up, BlackRock is also purchasing an undisclosed quantity of Uniswap’s UNI token.
The new deal, with tokenization company Securitize, is a milestone for the DeFi sector, which many consider one of the most useful applications in crypto. Unlike traditional trading, which relies on centralized intermediaries to record and settle transactions, platforms like Uniswap rely on smart contracts to connect buyers and sellers through liquidity pools and automated market makers. Currently, there is around $100 billion of capital on DeFi platforms.
BlackRock’s decision to list its BUIDL token, which launched in 2024 and has a total market value of approximately $1.8 billion, reflects a major vote of confidence in DeFi from one of the financial industry’s most influential companies.
The practical impact of Uniswap adding BUIDL to its platform will likely be minor at first, as the deal involves Securitize creating a whitelist of eligible institutions that can participate in DeFi trading. The company has also whitelisted a handful of market makers, including longtime crypto-liquidity provider Wintermute, to facilitate trading. Meanwhile, access to BUIDL is restricted to qualified buyers, a legal designation for those with assets of $5 million or more.
These restrictions will mean that a relatively small number of traders will trade BUIDL on Uniswap’s decentralized platform. However, the new arrangement also serves as an important test case and is likely to lead to a growing number of traders using DeFi to trade stocks and a growing list of other traditional assets.
“Large asset managers want to walk before they run and start with qualified buyers. But the infrastructure we are announcing will also work with retail products,” said Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize, whose company specializes in putting assets on blockchain.
Worlds in collision
The connection between BlackRock and Uniswap is striking because the two occupy extremely divergent places on the financial services spectrum. The former is a quintessential Wall Street name while the latter is known as one of the most cutting-edge forums in crypto where pseudonymous “degens” – industry lingo for high-risk traders – launch obscure digital tokens.
Uniswap Founder and CEO Hayden Adams said Fortune The collaboration came to fruition after a year and a half of meetings that took place in BlackRock’s swanky Hudson Yards offices in Manhattan and the startup’s “very pink” space in SoHo. Adams added that former Uniswap COO Mary-Catherine Lader, a former BlackRock executive who launched the company’s digital assets division, helped negotiate the deal.
Adams declined to comment on the scope of BlackRock’s purchase of UNI. The token, which serves as a proxy for Uniswap’s value, is currently trading at around $3.30 and has an overall market capitalization of over $2 billion.
For Adams, the decision by a large institution like BlackRock to adopt Uniswap’s technology confirms his belief that trading in assets of all kinds will migrate to blockchain-based platforms. He added that this tokenization process, whose touted benefits include instant settlement and more efficient use of collateral, will produce savings and benefits that will benefit the investor world as a whole.
In a statement, Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s global head of digital assets, said the Uniswap deal would also benefit stablecoins, which are quickly becoming part of the broader financial landscape.
“This collaboration with Uniswap Labs alongside Securitize is a notable step in the convergence of tokenized assets with decentralized finance. The integration of BUIDL into UniswapX marks a major step forward in the interoperability of tokenized USD yield funds with stablecoins,” Mitchnick said.
