BlackRock CEO Says Future of Finance Lies in Tokenization of Traditional Assets

BlackRock expects traditional financial assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate to move toward tokenized versions over the next few decades. CEO Larry Fink outlined this vision during an interview with CNBC’s Squawk on the Street on Tuesday.

Fink described asset tokenization as “the next major move” for the firm and a transformative opportunity for investors.

“If we can tokenize an ETF, digitize that ETF, we can have investors who are just beginning to invest in markets through, let’s say, crypto,” Fink explained. “They’re investing in it, but now we can get them into more traditional long-term retirement products.”

Fink said he sees tokenization as the next wave of opportunity for BlackRock. “We look at that as the next wave of opportunity for BlackRock over the next tens of years,” he said, “as we start moving away from traditional financial assets by repotting them in a digital manner and having people stay in that digital ecosystem.”

BlackRock currently manages $13.5 trillion in assets globally, according to its latest earnings report. Of that, around $104 billion, roughly 1% of its portfolio, is invested in crypto assets.

Early Days of a Trillion-Dollar Market

Fink emphasized that the world is still in the early stages of asset tokenization, though he expects rapid growth ahead. “I do believe we’re just at the beginning of the tokenization of all assets, from real estate to equities to bonds—across the board,” he told CNBC.

According to market research firm Mordor Intelligence, the tokenization market is already valued at more than $2 trillion in 2025 and could grow to over $13 trillion by 2030.

BlackRock has already made significant moves in the space. Earlier this year, the company launched the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), the largest tokenized cash market fund to date, with $2.8 billion in assets. Fink said the company’s teams are actively exploring additional tokenization opportunities across different sectors.

BlackRock CEO: From Crypto Skeptic to Advocate

Fink’s latest comments mark a notable shift from his earlier skepticism toward cryptocurrencies. In a recent interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, he said he now views crypto as an important alternative asset, comparing it to gold.

In 2017, Fink had dismissed Bitcoin as “an index of money laundering,” and a year later, he claimed none of his clients were interested in crypto investments. Reflecting on his change in perspective, Fink told CNBC, “I was a critic in the past, but over time, I grow and learn.”

Last year, the executive predicted that Bitcoin’s market cap will reach $50 trillion if momentum continues. As BlackRock deepens its involvement in digital finance, Fink’s evolving outlook suggests that the line between traditional investing and blockchain technology is blurring.