New York, NY/ November 14, 2024 – Investment management firm BlackRock has expanded its blockchain footprint through Securitize by making available the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL, or the Fund) on Avalanche. Tokenized and accessed through Securitize, a leader in tokenizing real-world assets, BUIDL is now the largest tokenized treasury fund globally; its launch marks the latest milestone in the growing tokenized asset ecosystem on the Avalanche network. With this launch, BlackRock is the latest in a running list of institutional buy- and sell-side partners leveraging the Avalanche network as part of their blockchain and digital asset strategies.
One share of the $500M+ Fund is represented by one BUIDL token. The Fund seeks to offer a stable value of $1 per token and pays daily accrued dividends directly to investors' wallets. The Fund aims to invest 100% of its total assets in cash, U.S. Treasury bills, and repurchase agreements, allowing investors to earn yield on potentially otherwise sidelined, non-yield bearing fiat or stablecoins. The fees associated with the share class on Avalanche are notably lower than some of the other blockchains on which the Fund is offered.
"Tokenization may enable greater access and utility, so I’m thrilled to see the Avalanche platform supporting the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund,” said John Wu, President at Ava Labs. “The financial landscape is undergoing a vast transformation. As more institutions move towards tokenization, we see significant leaps towards transformative digital financial services such as BUIDL that address investor demand and bring to bear blockchain-enabled capabilities and differentiators.”
Through Avalanche, the Fund offers incrementally greater utility than that which is accessed via traditional financial market rails today. Between instantaneous and transparent settlement, peer-to-peer transfers, daily dividends, composability, and collateral mobility, BUIDL stands out as an increasingly attractive asset to both the on-chain ecosystem as well as more traditional, off-chain investors and capital.
The deployment underscores how the Avalanche network has emerged as the go-to ecosystem for traditional institutions looking to deploy tokenized assets and dApps on-chain. Avalanche is playing a critical role in the growth of the real-world asset (RWA) market, driven by the spectrum of business outcomes the network enables and its ecosystem partners’ concerted go-to-market approach across both the crypto native and non-crypto native user base.
“Avalanche has been a valued partner for Securitize for many years, and our collaborations have consistently demonstrated the power in tokenizing real-world assets to make them more accessible and secure for institutional and individual investors alike,” said Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize. “BUIDL’s expansion onto Avalanche is the next step in this partnership and a testament to the shared vision we have for the future of finance.”
BUIDL’s expansion to Avalanche follows the various institutional initiatives, including Kinexsys by J.P. Morgan and Citi, and asset managers, such as Wellington, KKR, and Franklin Templeton, that have incorporated Avalanche into their digital asset strategies. Avalanche’s EVM compatibility, sub-second transaction finality, low fees, customizability, and robust consistency make it a compelling choice for institutional deployments. This suite of enterprise-grade infrastructure, combined with a strong focus on tokenization and on-chain finance, continues to attract institutions seeking reliable blockchain solutions.
To learn more about BlackRock and BUIDL, visit here.
About BlackRock
BlackRock's purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading financial technology provider, we help millions of people build savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing easier and more affordable. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate.
About Securitize
Securitize, the leader in tokenizing real-world assets, is bringing the world on-chain through tokenized funds in partnership with top-tier asset managers, such as BlackRock, Hamilton Lane, KKR and others. Securitize, through its subsidiaries, is a SEC-registered broker dealer and digital transfer agent, and operator of a SEC-regulated Alternative Trading System (ATS). For more information, please visit www.securitize.io.
About Avalanche Blockchain Network
Avalanche is a high-performance blockchain platform designed for builders who need to scale. Engineered with a revolutionary three-part Layer 1 (L1) architecture, Avalanche is anchored by its Avalanche Consensus Mechanism, ensuring near-instant finality for transactions. The platform also features an open-source Layer 0 (L0) framework, enabling the seamless creation of interoperable Layer 1 blockchains with high throughput on both public and private networks.
Supported by a global community of developers and validators, Avalanche offers a fast, low-cost environment for building the next generation of decentralized applications (dApps). With its unique blend of speed, flexibility, and scalability, Avalanche is the preferred choice for innovators pushing the boundaries of blockchain technology.
For more information, visit avax.network.
BUIDL's initial investment minimum is $5 million. Interests in BUIDL have not been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and will not be listed on any exchange. Such interests are offered solely pursuant to 506(c) under the Securities Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. BUIDL is excepted from the definition of "investment company" under the Investment Company Act pursuant to Section 3(c)(7) of that Act.
Private market investments are speculative and considered risky, including potential loss of your investment, and may not be appropriate for every shareholder. Any discussion of liquidity is purely speculative. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
BUIDL may not be able to maintain a stable value of $1.00 per token at all times. Investments in tokens using blockchain, such as an investment in BUIDL, involve a high degree of risk, including risks that are different from the risks of investing in traditional assets. These risks include, but are not limited to, risk of regulatory uncertainty, market adoption, market manipulation, market exiting, price volatility and security risk and may expose investors to loss of principal. Investments in private placements are also speculative and involve a high degree of risk. Investors must be able to afford the loss of their entire investment. Offers to sell, or the solicitations of offers to buy any security can only be made to qualified investors through official offering documents that contain important information about risks, fees and expenses associated with the applicable securities. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and are encouraged to consult with a financial advisor, attorney, accountant, tax advisors, and any other professional that can help them to understand and assess the risks associated with any investment opportunity. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
In connection with its services as placement agent for BUIDL, the Investment Manager will pay to Securitize Markets cash compensation as follows: (i) an upfront flat fee and (ii) a quarterly fee with respect to each investor who is introduced to BUIDL by Securitize Markets generally equal to a percentage of the average daily net asset value of such investor's interests in BUIDL for the applicable calendar quarter, with the amount of the upfront fee to be credited against the quarterly fee.
The compensation paid by the Investment Manager to Securitize Markets for acting as placement agent to BUIDL creates a conflict of interest for Securitize Markets. In particular, the amount of compensation received by Securitize Markets will depend on the number of investors that are introduced to BUIDL. As a result, Securitize Markets is incentivized to recommend that prospective investors invest in BUIDL. In addition, BlackRock's investment in Securitize Markets creates a conflict of interest for the Investment Manager.
BlackRock has also made a strategic investment in Securitize. As part of the investment, Joseph Chalom, BlackRock's Global Head of Strategic Ecosystem Partnerships, has been appointed to Securitize's Board of Directors.
Securitize Markets or one or more of its affiliates may be a BlackRock client or investor.
