Former BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and current COO Rob Goldstein have publicly reaffirmed their strong belief that asset tokenization will become the key bridge connecting the cryptocurrency industry with traditional finance (TradFi).

In a recent opinion piece published in The Economist, the two leaders emphasized that tokenization will not replace the existing financial system overnight, but it will gradually merge both worlds into a unified financial infrastructure.

They compared this transformation to a bridge being built from both sides of a river:

On one side: traditional financial institutions such as banks, asset managers, and investment funds

On the other side: digital innovators including blockchain networks, fintech companies, and stablecoin issuers

These two ecosystems, once seen as rivals, are now learning to cooperate and integrate.

> “In the future, investors will no longer separate stock and bond portfolios from crypto portfolios. Instead, all assets will be traded, stored, and managed through a single digital wallet,” Fink and Goldstein wrote.

BlackRock is currently the largest asset manager in the world, overseeing more than $13.4 trillion in assets. Larry Fink himself was once skeptical about crypto, but he has since become one of the industry’s most influential supporters—especially after the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs.

🌍 Traditional Finance Has Now Recognized the Real Value of Tokenization

Fink and Goldstein admitted that in the early days, the true value of tokenization was difficult to identify, as the technology became tightly linked to speculative crypto market cycles.

However, over recent years, traditional finance has begun to see what lies beneath the hype.

Tokenization is no longer viewed merely as a crypto trend—it is now recognized as a tool that can:

✅ Vastly expand the range of investable assets

✅ Unlock liquidity for traditionally illiquid instruments

✅ Enable faster settlement and lower transaction costs

✅ Provide global access to financial products 24/7

Instead of being limited to publicly traded stocks and bonds, tokenization allows investors to access:

Private credit

Real estate

Commodities

Treasury products

And even infrastructure assets

This represents a fundamental upgrade to the financial system.

💵 BlackRock’s Tokenized Money Market Fund Sets a Global Benchmark

BlackRock currently operates the largest tokenized money market fund in the world, called:

➡️ BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL)

➡️ Launched in March 2024

➡️ Current valuation: $2.8 billion

This fund allows institutional investors to gain blockchain-based access to traditional money market instruments, demonstrating how tokenization is no longer theoretical—it is already live at scale.

BUIDL has become a proof-of-concept that shows how traditional assets can operate efficiently on blockchain infrastructure without sacrificing regulatory compliance.

⚖️ Regulation Is the Key to Safe and Sustainable Growth

Despite their strong optimism, Fink and Goldstein emphasized that tokenization must grow within a properly regulated environment.

They stressed that:

Governments

Regulators

Policy makers

must modernize legal frameworks so that traditional finance and tokenized markets can work together safely and efficiently.

They pointed out that in the past:

Bond ETFs successfully connected dealer-based bond markets with public exchanges

Today, Bitcoin Spot ETFs have already integrated digital assets into traditional stock exchanges

Each innovation served as a bridge between old and new financial systems—and tokenization is simply the next stage of that evolution.

🧠 “Risk Should Be Regulated by Its True Nature — Not Its Digital Wrapper”

The two executives concluded with one of the most important messages for regulators worldwide:

> “Supervision should be consistent. Risk should be assessed based on its true economic nature, not on how it is packaged. A bond remains a bond — even if it exists on a blockchain.”

This statement underlines a critical truth:

Blockchain does not change the nature of an asset — only its efficiency, accessibility, and transparency.

✅ Final Takeaway

Tokenization is no longer a future concept — it is actively reshaping the global financial system today. With industry giants like BlackRock fully committed, the integration between crypto and traditional finance is now irreversible.

The future of finance will likely be:

Digital

Tokenized

Regulated

And globally accessible through blockchain infrastructure

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