BlackRock CEO Sees ‘New Wave of Opportunity’ in Tokenization

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with $13.5 trillion in assets, envisions a transformative shift in finance by tokenizing traditional assets over the coming decades.

CEO Larry Fink highlighted this vision in a recent interview calling tokenization the next major frontier for the company to attract new investors.

Fink explained that digitizing Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) could allow investors entering markets through crypto to access long-term traditional products.

“We see this as a huge opportunity to move assets into a digital ecosystem,” he said, emphasizing the potential to revolutionize how people invest and engage with financial products.

Tokenization’s Expansive Potential

Fink noted tokenization is still in its early stages but holds vast promise across sectors like real estate, equities, and bonds.

The market for tokenized assets was estimated at over $2 trillion in 2025, with projections of soaring to $13 trillion by 2030.

BlackRock is actively positioning itself to lead this shift, with teams exploring various tokenization strategies.

The firm already manages the largest tokenized cash market fund, BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), valued at $2.8 billion as of March 2024.

Fink also urged regulators to accelerate approval processes for tokenized bonds and stocks, signaling BlackRock’s commitment to expanding digital asset opportunities.

Changing Views on Crypto’s Role

Fink, once a crypto skeptic, now sees digital currencies as viable portfolio diversifiers akin to gold.

“Crypto offers an alternative avenue for diversification,” he said, though he advises it should remain a smaller portion of portfolios.

His evolving stance reflects a broader industry shift towards integrating crypto and blockchain technologies in mainstream finance.