Securitize has secured $47 million in new strategic funding led by BlackRock. Other investors include blockchain developers Aptos Labs and Paxos, as well as stablecoin issuer Circle.
According to Securitize, the funds will support product development, global expansion, and the consolidation of partnerships within the financial services sector.
Joseph Chalom, BlackRock’s global head of strategic ecosystem partnerships, will join Securitize’s board of directors. Chalom views this investment as part of BlackRock’s evolving digital assets strategy to meet the future needs of clients: “another step in the evolution of our digital assets strategy […] that will help meet the future needs of our clients.”
Securitize collaborated with BlackRock as a transfer agent, tokenization platform, and placement agent for the launch of the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) on the Ethereum blockchain in March. BUIDL, BlackRock’s inaugural tokenized fund, invests in cash, U.S. Treasury bills, and repurchase agreements.
Within six weeks, BUIDL accumulated a market cap of $375 million, making it the largest tokenized treasury fund, surpassing the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (BENJI) by $7 million. RWA.xyz reports that there is currently $1.28 billion locked in tokenized U.S. treasuries and bonds.
Investment manager Hamilton Lane, alongside ParaFi Capital and Tradeweb Markets, also contributed to this fundraise. Mo Shaikh, co-founder and CEO of Aptos Labs, emphasised their role in bridging traditional finance with open finance, noting that leaders like BlackRock and pioneers like Securitize are shaping the future of finance.
Securitize is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a broker-dealer and transfer agent and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).