Overview

• Bloomberg reported that BlackRock is weighing issuing tokenized shares of ETFs tied to real-world assets such as stocks, a move that would require regulatory approval.
• The exploration builds on BlackRock’s $2.2 billion BUIDL tokenized money-market fund and backend tests of tokenized share mechanics on JPMorgan’s Kinexys platform.
• Proponents say on-chain ETF shares could enable 24/7 trading, near-instant settlement, fractional ownership, broader international access, and collateral use in crypto networks.
• Key hurdles include reconciling blockchain trading with clearinghouse settlement, defining custody and transfer-agent roles, and ensuring compliance under existing securities rules.
• Industry momentum is growing as Nasdaq files to permit trading of tokenized stocks and ETFs, even as the tokenized RWA market remains relatively small and some analysts question near-term consumer benefits.