BlackRock takes first DeFi step, lists BUIDL on Uniswap as UNI jumps 25%

BlackRock, the world-wide largest asset manager, on Wednesday said it will make shares of its tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, BUIDL, tradable on Uniswap, marking the asset manager’s first step into decentralized finance (DeFi).

As part of the move, BlackRock also disclosed a strategic investment in Uniswap and purchased an undisclosed amount of UNI, Uniswap’s governance token, which surged 25% on the news, now trading at $4.11.

BUIDL, which launched in 2024, is the largest tokenized U.S. Treasury fund on the market with nearly $2.2 billion in total value locked, according to data from rwa.xyz. It’s a blockchain-based fund backed 100% by U.S. Treasury bills and cash, offering yield on-chain.

Its arrival on Uniswap — one of the largest decentralized exchanges — means investors can now trade the tokenized fund in a peer-to-peer setting without a traditional intermediary.

To make this work, BlackRock partnered with Uniswap Labs and Securitize, a firm that handles the regulatory and compliance legwork of tokenizing real-world assets. BUIDL shares will be available through UniswapX, a trading system that sources quotes from approved market makers and settles trades on the blockchain. All users must be pre-qualified and whitelisted through Securitize, which will facilitate the transactions.

“This collaboration with Uniswap Labs alongside Securitize is a notable step in the convergence of tokenized assets with decentralized finance,” Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s global head of digital assets, said in a statement. “The integration of BUIDL into UniswapX marks a major leap forward in the interoperability of tokenized USD yield funds with stablecoins.”

DeFi platforms like Uniswap allow users to trade assets, borrow, or earn yield without relying on centralized financial institutions. Instead, they run on smart contracts — self-executing code stored on public blockchains.

Uniswap, in particular, is the largest decentralized exchange on Ethereum ETH$1,950.42. It lets users swap tokens directly from their wallets, often within seconds. By enabling trading of BUIDL, Uniswap expands beyond crypto-native assets into the world of tokenized government bonds.

The integration allows qualified investors to swap BUIDL 24/7 with approved market makers using stablecoins.