With less than three weeks remaining, BlackRock is on the verge of a groundbreaking move. The financial giant is set to digitize shares of its $150 billion Treasury Trust fund using blockchain technology. In collaboration with BNY Mellon, BlackRock is introducing a novel form of Distributed Ledger Technology shares.

This innovative digital share class aims to revolutionize the ownership records of shares through blockchain integration. By leveraging this cutting-edge technology, BlackRock anticipates a potential surge in the adoption of digital assets across the financial landscape.

Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, has underscored the significance of tokenization while cautioning about potential repercussions if the U.S. does not address its debt management issues promptly. Fink's concerns extend to a scenario where America could risk ceding financial dominance to digital currencies like Bitcoin due to decentralized finance innovations.

The move by BlackRock follows a recent trend where various companies are exploring tokenization initiatives for real-world assets, bridging traditional finance with crypto and decentralized finance realms. For instance, Libre announced tokenizing $500 million of Telegram's debt earlier on Wednesday, indicating a growing intersection between conventional finance and blockchain technology.

In light of these developments and the increasing momentum in tokenization efforts, it is evident that digital asset adoption is gaining traction within mainstream finance circles.

BlackRock Looking to Tokenize Shares of Its $150B Treasury Trust Fund, SEC Filing Shows

BlackRock will work with BNY Mellon in creating a new class of Distributed Ledger Technology shares for the fund.

• BlackRock is introducing a digital share class for its $150 billion Treasury Trust fund, utilizing blockchain technology through BNY Mellon.
• The new shares will use blockchain to mirror share ownership records, potentially leading to broader adoption of digital assets.
• BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has highlighted the potential of tokenization and warned the U.S. could lose financial dominance if it fails to manage its debt.

BlackRock is preparing to bring blockchain to the back office of one of its largest funds, filing to offer a digital share class of its $150 billion Treasury Trust money market fund through BNY Mellon.

The new “DLT Shares,” short for distributed ledger technology, won’t hold crypto. BNY Mellon, the fund’s exclusive distributor, intends to use blockchain to mirror share ownership records, an incremental step that could pave the way for broader adoption of tokenized cash, digital assets, or blockchain-based settlement infrastructure in traditional finance.

In the past few years, a growing number of firms has experimented with creating blockchain-based representations of real world assets (RWAs), bringing the traditional finance world rapidly into the crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi) environment. Earlier Wednesday, Libre said it was tokenizing $500 million of messaging platform Telegram's $2.4 billion debt and bringing it to the TON blockchain.

“If the U.S. doesn’t get its debt under control … America risks losing [its reserve currency status] to digital assets like Bitcoin,” Fink wrote. “Decentralized finance is an extraordinary innovation. It makes markets faster, cheaper, and more transparent. Yet that same innovation could undermine America’s economic advantage.”

UPDATE (April 30, 7:29 UTC): Adds third paragraph on tokenization trends, rewrites headline.