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Case study C1 · United States / British Virgin Islands
BlackRock BUIDL: How a Money-Market Fund Went On-Chain
Published in the newsletter on 21 October 2026 · Last verified 20 October 2026
Summary
BlackRock launched the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) on 20 March 2024, its first tokenized fund issued on a public blockchain. The fund invests in cash, US Treasury bills and repurchase agreements, aims for a stable value of US$1 per token and pays accrued dividends to holders' wallets as new tokens each month.
Almost every role is conventional. BlackRock Financial Management manages the portfolio, BNY is custodian and administrator, PwC is the auditor, and Securitize is the transfer agent and placement agent. What changed is the share register: ownership is recorded as a token, now on nine networks, and transfers between pre-approved wallets run around the clock.
SEC Form D filings show a British Virgin Islands company sold under Rule 506(c) and section 3(c)(7), so only qualified purchasers can invest. The July 2026 amendment reports more than US$5.1 billion sold since March 2024 from 28 investors, while on-chain data in October 2026 showed about US$2.2 billion outstanding across 106 addresses.
The clearest gain has been collateral: since June 2025 Crypto.com and Deribit accept BUIDL as margin for eligible institutions. The limits are those of any private fund: narrow access, a concentrated holder base, and redemptions that still run through the transfer agent and custodian.
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Key facts
- Asset
- Private money-market-style fund (cash, Treasury bills, repo)
- Jurisdiction
- United States / British Virgin Islands
- Status
- Operating
- Launched
- 20 March 2024 (first sale 4 March 2024) (BlackRock/Securitize release; SEC Form D)
- Legal route
- Rule 506(c) and Investment Company Act s.3(c)(7); BVI company (SEC Form D, CIK 0002013810)
- Service providers
- BlackRock Financial Management (manager), BNY (custodian, administrator), Securitize (transfer agent), PwC (auditor) (Launch release, 20 Mar 2024)
- Cumulative sales
- US$5,135,523,412 from 28 investors (Form D/A signed 23 Jul 2026) (SEC Form D/A)
- Outstanding on-chain
- US$2.17 billion, 103 holder addresses (20 Oct 2026) (RWA.xyz (aggregator))
- Networks
- Ethereum, BNB Chain, Tempo, Solana, Polygon, Avalanche, Optimism, Arbitrum, Aptos (BlackRock official token addresses)
- Collateral use
- Accepted on Crypto.com and Deribit for eligible institutions (18 Jun 2025) (Securitize release)
Directory entry: BlackRock BUIDL
Summary for education only. Not investment, legal or tax advice.