Core Insights - The emergence of Real World Assets (RWA) through blockchain technology is creating a new asset allocation era, with a projected market size of $16 trillion by 2030 [1][12] - RWA allows for the tokenization of traditionally illiquid assets, lowering investment barriers and providing more stable returns linked to the real economy [4][10] Definition and Mechanism - RWA refers to the tokenization of real-world assets such as real estate and receivables, enabling their trading and liquidity in a digital format [2][3] - This transformation allows traditionally illiquid assets to be purchased in smaller amounts and traded quickly, similar to cryptocurrencies [3] Market Potential - The global RWA market is on the verge of significant growth, with a total asset value of $25.5 billion expected by mid-2025, excluding stablecoins [8] - The market is currently dominated by private credit (58.5%), U.S. Treasury bonds (29.6%), and commodities (6.4%) [10] Institutional Involvement - Major financial institutions like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are beginning to pilot RWA projects, integrating traditional capital with the Web3 ecosystem [20][21] - BlackRock's BUIDL is noted as the largest single RWA project, with a market value exceeding $2.8 billion [10] Development Phases - The evolution of RWA has progressed through several phases: concept exploration (2016-2018), infrastructure building (2019-2021), institutional entry (2022-2023), and application expansion (2024-present) [14][15][20] - The current phase is characterized by the expansion of RWA applications beyond financial assets into sectors like real estate, energy, and AI computing [14][25] Emerging Directions - New sectors such as AI computing, carbon assets, and agriculture are exploring RWA pathways, indicating significant future potential [25][26] - Stablecoins are highlighted as a successful use case for RWA, serving as a core medium for transactions within the RWA ecosystem [25] Regional Developments - Hong Kong is leading RWA development in China, with regulatory frameworks supporting green assets and innovative financing solutions [25] - Notable projects include the tokenization of charging stations and solar energy assets, showcasing the practical application of RWA in the region [26] Challenges and Risks - RWA faces challenges such as regulatory complexities, ensuring on-chain and off-chain asset consistency, and the need for improved infrastructure [27][29] - The liquidity of the secondary market for RWA remains a concern, particularly for non-standard assets [31]

Fundraising & Strategy - BlackRock temporarily halted fundraising for its new Asian private credit strategy [1] - The pause was related to BlackRock's merger with HPS Investment Partners [1] - This pause introduces uncertainty to BlackRock's private credit ambitions in Asia [1]

🔥 NEW: XRP flips BlackRock in market cap.$XRP: $180.35B$BLK: $177.79B https://t.co/zjqOTqMSGf ...

Tokenized Funds Market - Ondo Finance is the 2nd largest issuer of tokenized funds, only behind BlackRock [1]

Group 1 - BlackRock manages $12.53 trillion in assets, equivalent to China's annual GDP [2] - The company has significant stakes in major Chinese firms such as BYD (7.02%), Kuaishou (5.18%), and Alibaba (2.53%) [3][13] - BlackRock's influence extends to various sectors, including renewable energy, technology, finance, and consumer goods [3][13] Group 2 - Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, has a background in finance and led the company to become the largest asset management firm globally after acquiring Barclays' asset management division in 2009 [4][7] - The company has faced scrutiny related to its ESG policies during Democratic administrations but has also benefited from favorable conditions under Republican leadership [9] - BlackRock's Aladdin system is a powerful risk management platform used by over 170 financial institutions globally, including 37 in China [11][13] Group 3 - BlackRock's investment strategy includes direct participation in China's capital markets, having obtained a full public fund license in 2021 [15] - The company is involved in significant transactions, such as the proposed acquisition of 43 overseas ports from Li Ka-shing for $22.8 billion, which raised national security concerns [17][18] - China is enhancing regulatory measures to manage foreign investments, including a new policy for foreign public funds and scrutiny of major transactions [21][23] Group 4 - BlackRock's expansion continues with new products like tokenized funds and a growing interest in ESG investments, demonstrating its resilience in a fluctuating market [28][30] - The company is seen as a potential threat to national interests due to its extensive data collection and influence over key financial institutions in China [11][13][30] - China's strategy involves a combination of regulatory frameworks, technological advancements, and protection of strategic assets to safeguard its economic sovereignty [26][28]

RT Leviathan News (@leviathan_news)According to Token Terminal, BlackRock leads tokenized finance with its $2.4B BUIDL money market fund. Most issuers are incumbents partnering with crypto startups, while only a small share are purely crypto-native. ...

Majority of issuers = incumbents assisted by crypto-native startupsMinority of issuers = crypto-native startupsToken Terminal 📊 (@tokenterminal):🚨📰 @BlackRock, with its ~$2.4 billion BUIDL money market fund, is the biggest issuer of tokenized funds.BUIDL is powered by @Securitize & @wormhole https://t.co/kwbSN4Ov00 ...

Tokenized Fund Deployments - Two largest tokenized fund deployments are BlackRock BUIDL and WisdomTreePrime WTGXX [1] - Issuers are listed companies founded in the 1980s [1] - Tokenized funds invest in US T-Bills [1] - Tokens are deployed on Ethereum [1] Market Outlook - Success of these products represents a "low-risk" playbook for Wall Street [1]

Tokenized Fund Overview - Two largest tokenized fund deployments are BlackRock BUIDL and WisdomTreePrime WTGXX [1] - Issuers are listed companies established in the 1980s [1] - Tokenized funds invest in US T-Bills (US Treasury Bills) [1] - Tokens are deployed on Ethereum [1]

Challenges in Building AI Applications at BlackRock - BlackRock faces challenges in prompt engineering, requiring significant time investment from domain experts to iterate, version, and compare prompts effectively [10] - BlackRock encounters difficulties in selecting appropriate LLM strategies (e.g., RAG, chain-of-thought) due to instrument complexity and document size variations, impacting data extraction [11] - BlackRock experiences deployment challenges, including determining suitable cluster types (GPU-based inference vs burstable) and managing cost controls for AI applications [12][14] BlackRock's Solution: Sandbox and App Factory - BlackRock developed a framework with a "sandbox" for domain experts to build and refine extraction templates, accelerating the app development process [15][17] - BlackRock's "sandbox" provides greater configuration capabilities beyond prompt engineering, including QC checks, validations, constraints, and interfield dependencies [19][20] - BlackRock's "app factory" is a cloud-native operator that takes a definition from the sandbox and spins out an app, streamlining deployment [15] Key Takeaways for Building AI Apps at Scale - BlackRock emphasizes investing heavily in prompt engineering skills for domain experts, particularly in the financial space, due to the complexity of financial documents [26] - BlackRock highlights the importance of educating the firm on LLM strategies and how to choose the right approach for specific use cases [27] - BlackRock stresses the need to evaluate the ROI of AI app development versus off-the-shelf products, considering the potential cost [27] - BlackRock underscores the importance of human-in-the-loop design, especially in regulated environments, to ensure compliance and accuracy [28]