BlackRock, the largest investment firm in the world with over $11 trillion in assets under management, made two significant moves on March 25 to increase its presence in the crypto industry.
The firm has extended its tokenized money market fund to the Solana blockchain and introduced its first Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) in the European market.
Bitcoin ETP
BlackRock has launched its iShares Bitcoin ETP across major European markets.
According to the product’s website, the ETP will begin trading on March 25 on Germany’s Xetra exchange, Euronext Paris, and Euronext Amsterdam. The product trades under the ticker IB1T on Xetra and Paris and BTCN in Amsterdam.
To encourage adoption, the ETP is debuting with a reduced fee of 0.15%, which will remain in effect until 2026. After that, the fees will increase to 0.25%, aligning with similar regional offerings.
This launch follows the strong performance of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in the US, which currently manages over $50 billion in assets.
According to data from SoSoValue, the US-based fund now holds approximately 2.9% of the total circulating Bitcoin supply.
BUIDL’s Solana expansion
In a separate development, BlackRock’s tokenized fund, the USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), is now live on Solana.
This marks the seventh blockchain to support the fund, following earlier rollouts on Ethereum, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Aptos, Polygon, and Optimism.
Securitize, BlackRock’s partner for BUIDL, explained that it expanded the product to Solana because of the blockchain network’s fast transaction speeds and low network fees.
Carlos Domingo, Co-founder and CEO of Securitize, said:
“As the market for RWAs and tokenized treasuries gains momentum, expanding BUIDL to Solana—a blockchain known for its speed, scalability, and cost efficiency—is a natural next step.”
BUIDL tokenizes traditional money market funds, offering the benefits of blockchain-based settlement and 24/7 trading. This contrasts with conventional funds that operate within limited market hours.
Currently, BUIDL manages over $1.7 billion in assets, primarily in cash and short-term US Treasury bills. Ethereum hosts the bulk of these holdings—over $1.5 billion—while the remaining assets are distributed across other supported blockchains.
Aptos and Avalanche each hold around $53 million, followed by Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism, which have $33 million, $32 million, and $27 million, respectively.
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