BlackRock files to launch digital shares that track its money market funds

Asset manager BlackRock has filed to create digital ledger technology stocks based on one of its money market funds, which will use blockchain technology to maintain a mirror record of ownership for investors.

In a Form N-1A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 29, BlackRock said the DLT stocks will track the BlackRock BLF Treasury Trust Fund (TTTXX), which is only available through BlackRock Advisors and Bank of New York Mellon.

The money market fund holds more than $150 million in assets, almost entirely invested in U.S. Treasuries and cash.

The stocks "are expected to be purchased and held through Bank of New York Mellon, which plans to use blockchain technology to maintain a mirror record of ownership for its clients," BlackRock said.

Unlike the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), the DLT stocks will not be tokenized but will serve as a transparency tool to verify ownership.

BlackRock will continue to retain traditional bookkeeping records as the official ownership ledger.

BlackRock did not propose a ticker for the DLT stocks or set a management fee in its filing.

The minimum initial investment requirement for institutional investors to purchase these digital shares is $3 million worth of DLT shares.

BlackRock’s move comes on the heels of Fidelity’s March 21 filing, which sought to list its Ethereum-based OnChain share class designed to track the Fidelity Treasury Digital Fund (FYHXX), an $80 million fund comprised almost entirely of U.S. Treasuries.

While the OnChain share class application is still subject to regulatory approval, Fidelity expects it to go into effect on May 30.

Wall Street giants continue to explore blockchain use cases

In the past few years, asset managers have increasingly turned to blockchain to tokenize Treasuries, bonds, and private credit.

According to rwa.xyz, the Treasury tokenization market is currently valued at $6.16 billion, with BlackRock’s BUIDL leading the pack with $2.55 billion, while Franklin Templeton’s Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund (BENJI) holds over $700 million in real-world assets.

Ethereum (ETH) remains the blockchain of choice for tokenizing Treasury assets, currently hosting over $4.55 billion worth of tokenized Treasury assets, while Stellar Network and Solana rank second and third with $474.9 million and $274.5 million, respectively.

The potential of tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) has also been touted by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who believes the technology could revolutionize the investment space.