Tokenized money-market reach new milestone

Last week, BlackRock’s tokenized money-market fund, BUIDL, surpassed $1 billion in assets under management (AUM) for the first time, just one week shy of its one-year anniversary.

Launched on Ethereum in March 2024, BUIDL now also operates on three Ethereum layer-2s (Arbitrum, Optimism, and Polygon) and two alternative layer-1s (Avalanche and Aptos), broadening its multi-chain presence.

This milestone highlights growing institutional engagement in crypto tokenization, underscoring the potential of digital assets and blockchain as a secure, robust, and versatile foundation for modern finance.

Market Highlights

BlackRock’s BUIDL major milestone

BlackRock’s tokenized money-market fund, BUIDL, surpassed $1 billion in assets under management last week, making it the first institutional on-chain fund to cross this milestone.

This highlights once again the merging of crypto and traditional finance, marking a significant step in crypto adoption by institutions and signaling the growing acceptance of traditional securities in tokenized form.

Goldman Sachs comments on crypto

In its annual shareholders letter, Goldman Sachs acknowledged crypto’s increasing role in financial markets and the growing importance of blockchain and digital assets.

Goldman Sachs’ recognition of crypto reassures the growing institutional acceptance of digital assets and reinforces the idea that crypto is no longer a niche asset class but already an integral part of the evolving financial landscape.

Russia using crypto in oil trade

Russia is using cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ether and USDT in its oil trade with China and India.

Although crypto accounts for only a small portion of total trade, this highlights its permissionless and decentralized nature, and underscores crypto’s potential as a more robust infrastructure for international trade.

Market Metrics

The NCITM had a neutral week, dipping 0.3%, potentially marking a shift after weeks of negative momentum. Institutional interest in digital assets continued to grow, highlighted by Goldman Sachs’ acknowledgment of crypto in its annual shareholder letter. However, uncertainty remains around Trump’s tariff rhetoric, driving further demand for defensive assets like gold, which has risen above $3,000 for the first time in history, and continues to outperform in 2025, delivering a remarkable 14.0% upswing year to date.