BlackRock is opening its tokenized US Treasury fund BUIDL for trading via decentralized financial infrastructure for the first time. The fund, with roughly $2.4 billion in assets, will be tradable through UniswapX, an off-chain order routing system developed by Uniswap Labs.
Securitize, as the issuer of BUIDL, coordinates the technical settlement through its regulated marketplace system. At the same time, BlackRock has made a strategic investment in the UNI token without disclosing the amount. This marks the world's largest asset manager's first direct entry into a DeFi protocol. Following the announcement, Uniswap's governance token rose approximately 20 to 25 percent to $4.11.
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How BUIDL trading via UniswapX works
The trading system relies on a request-for-quote (RFQ) framework. Institutional participants submit a trade request. Then the system automatically identifies the most competitive offer from a pool of whitelisted market makers. Liquidity providers include Flowdesk, Tokka Labs, and Wintermute. After matching, smart contracts execute the settlement on-chain.
In practice, this enables near-instant liquidity between BUIDL and USDC. Trading runs around the clock, 365 days a year. However, access remains restricted to so-called "Qualified Purchasers," meaning investors with at least $5 million in assets. Despite the DeFi infrastructure, the system operates within regulatory guardrails.
"This collaboration with Uniswap Labs and Securitize is a notable step in the convergence of tokenized assets and decentralized finance." - Robert Mitchnick, Global Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock
Regulated bridge between TradFi and DeFi
Securitize acts as the regulatory link. The company holds SEC registration as a broker-dealer, transfer agent, fund administrator, and ATS operator in the United States. In Europe, Securitize also maintains full authorization under the EU DLT Pilot Regime. This makes it the only company operating regulated digital securities infrastructure in both jurisdictions. Its AUM exceeds $4 billion.
BUIDL itself is 100 percent backed by US Treasury bills and cash. Additionally, the fund offers investors on-chain yield based on short-duration government bonds. This structure combines the safety of traditional money market instruments with the speed of blockchain-based settlement.
"This is the breakthrough we have been working toward, connecting the trust and regulatory standards of traditional finance with the speed and openness of DeFi." - Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize
BlackRock's gradual expansion into tokenized infrastructure
The Uniswap integration is part of a broader expansion strategy for BUIDL. Most recently, BlackRock launched the fund on Binance's BNB Chain through a partnership with Binance. In parallel, an integration with the DeFi protocol Euler went live via Avalanche. Solana also joined the network as the seventh blockchain supporting BUIDL.
Since its 2024 launch, BUIDL was already available for on-chain transfers and certain forms of liquidity. The move to UniswapX, though, marks a new level. For the first time, BlackRock uses decentralized trading infrastructure for active price discovery of a tokenized product. And for the first time, the asset manager invests directly in a DeFi governance token.
Signal strength with limited reach
The practical impact remains modest for now. Only qualified investors with high net worth can access the product. Meanwhile, the RFQ system differs fundamentally from open order books or automated liquidity pools. Such models are typical for the broader DeFi market. As a result, this is closer to institutional infrastructure built on DeFi technology than a full DeFi integration.
Still, the collaboration sends a strong signal. BlackRock manages over $11 trillion in assets. When the world's largest asset manager deliberately chooses DeFi protocols as a settlement layer, it shifts the perception of decentralized infrastructure. The precedent matters more than the current scale.
"Our goal is simple: to make the exchange of value cheaper, faster, and more accessible. Enabling BUIDL via UniswapX with BlackRock and Securitize creates more efficient markets, better liquidity, and faster settlement." - Hayden Adams, Founder and CEO of Uniswap Labs
BUIDL, with approximately $2.4 billion in AUM, is the largest institutional tokenized fund on public blockchains. The convergence of regulated asset managers and decentralized liquidity platforms now takes concrete shape. Whether other asset managers follow depends largely on how the RFQ model performs in practice.
