BlackRock’s tokenized Treasury fund, BUIDL, now has access to a new $100 million liquidity facility. This service enables eligible institutional investors to exchange shares of the BUIDL fund for stablecoins at any time, including weekends, overcoming a major hurdle for blockchain-based financial products constrained by legacy banking hours.
New liquidity facility powered by Securitize and Ethena
The facility operates through Securitize, a platform specializing in tokenizing real-world assets, and is supported by Ethena Labs. This arrangement allows institutions to seamlessly convert holdings in BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) into supported stablecoins such as USDC.
This initiative responds to a key challenge in tokenized finance: while blockchain assets can move around the clock, liquidity is often bottlenecked by traditional fund redemption and settlement processes that only operate during business hours.
Ethena Labs and Securitize have enabled institutional investors to access liquidity for BlackRock’s BUIDL fund consistently, providing stablecoin conversion capabilities even outside usual market hours.
Facility structure and integration with major blockchains
Although the headline capacity of the facility is $100 million, it launches with $50 million in available liquidity—split between $25 million in USDC and $25 million in BUIDL shares. An additional $50 million can be added within about one hour as the initial tranche is used, depending on the facility’s terms and funding status.
This means the full $100 million capacity is not available at all times but can scale up quickly to meet demand from eligible investors.
| Facility | Maximum Capacity | Initial Funding | Stablecoin Supported |
|---|---|---|---|
| BUIDL Liquidity Facility | $100 million | $50 million ($25M USDC, $25M BUIDL) | USDC (others possible) |
This liquidity option builds on BlackRock’s previous integration of BUIDL with Uniswap and reflects the fund’s multi-chain strategy, expanding onto networks such as Avalanche and BNB Chain.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, continues to use tokenization to modernize access to traditional financial products like US Treasury bills through blockchain-based structures.
Mini dictionary: Securitize—A fintech firm that specializes in creating tradable digital representations of real-world assets such as equities, bonds, or funds, using blockchain technology. It provides infrastructure for compliant asset tokenization and trading.
Ethena broadens tokenized Treasury exposure
Ethena Labs’ role in the facility strengthens its ongoing connection with the BUIDL fund. The firm’s USDtb stablecoin is mainly backed by BUIDL, giving USDtb holders exposure to tokenized short-dated US Treasuries. This structure differs from Ethena’s synthetic dollar product USDe, which relies on crypto derivatives to maintain its peg.
USDtb has already reached the centralized exchange market following its listing on Bybit, and the new facility offers another channel for linking institutional Treasury exposure with on-chain digital dollars. Additionally, BUIDL has been integrated with Ripple’s RLUSD, illustrating the growing use of tokenized funds for institutional stablecoin conversion arrangements.
Unlike Ethena’s USDe, which uses crypto derivatives, USDtb is primarily secured by reserve assets tied to traditional financial instruments like US Treasuries, deepening the connection between tokenized finance protocols and mainstream assets.
Mini dictionary: Ethena Labs—A protocol focusing on the creation of decentralized dollar-pegged assets, notably USDe (synthetic dollar) and USDtb (reserve-backed stablecoin), both of which use blockchain and tokenized assets for stability and scalability.
24/7 access for institutional crypto investors
Traditional money market funds provide access to short-term debt instruments, but redemptions and settlements are usually limited to regular banking hours. The BUIDL liquidity facility gives institutional holders an alternative path to instant liquidity, especially during times when traditional channels are unavailable.
Access to the facility is still governed by investor eligibility, operational protocols, and available resources. Securitize’s broader push into asset-backed lending also suggests tokenized assets like BUIDL could increasingly be used as collateral for financing solutions in digital markets.
