Larry Fink: “We’re Just at the Beginning of Tokenizing All Assets”

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink believes the next decade will mark a complete transformation in global finance, driven by the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs). Speaking in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Fink said the world’s largest asset manager is “just at the beginning” of a major shift from traditional markets to blockchain-based systems.

“I do believe we’re just at the beginning of the tokenization of all assets, from real estate to equities to bonds,” Fink said. He described BlackRock’s approach as “re-potting” traditional financial products into a digital format to help investors remain within a fully integrated digital ecosystem.

Tokenization as the Next Growth Frontier

Fink highlighted that over $4.1 trillion currently sits in digital wallets worldwide, much of it outside the U.S., representing a massive opportunity for firms like BlackRock to bridge traditional finance and crypto.

“If we could tokenize an ETF — digitize it — we could bring new investors into long-term, traditional products like retirement funds,” he said. “That’s the next wave of opportunity for BlackRock over the next ten years.”

This statement reflects a broader push by financial institutions toward tokenization — the process of converting physical or financial assets into digital tokens that can be traded or owned on blockchains.

BlackRock’s Growing Onchain Presence

BlackRock has already taken concrete steps toward this future. The company operates BUIDL, the world’s largest tokenized money market fund, holding $2.8 billion in assets under management. It also manages IBIT, the world’s biggest Bitcoin ETF, which recently surpassed $100 billion in AUM. For Fink, the focus isn’t on short-term market swings but on staying present through cycles. “It’s not about whether the market’s going up or down,” he told CNBC’s Jim Cramer. “It’s about being in the market throughout the cycle.”

Real-World Asset Tokenization Booms

According to RWA.xyz, the total value of tokenized real-world assets now sits at $33.8 billion — up 115% since the start of 2025. Roughly half of that value comes from tokenized private credit.

Ethereum continues to dominate the RWA landscape, maintaining a 57% share of the market, which expands to 78% when Ethereum-compatible networks such as Polygon, Arbitrum, and zkSync are included.

Industry analysts expect BlackRock to continue leveraging Ethereum’s infrastructure for tokenization rather than developing an entirely new chain. This aligns with the firm’s strategy of integrating blockchain technology directly into existing financial systems. With Fink’s comments, it’s clear that the world’s largest asset manager views tokenization not as an experiment, but as the inevitable evolution of global finance.