Circle facilitates USDC swap for BlackRock's tokenized fund

Circle will allow the direct conversion of BlackRock’s tokenized fund shares into its USDC stablecoin.

According to Cricle’s announcement, a new smart contract feature will enable BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) investors to instantly convert their shares to Circle’s USDC stablecoin. The smart contract is designed to offer a “near-instant” off-ramping option for BUIDL, making it accessible to investors around the clock.

In March, BlackRock introduced its inaugural tokenized investment vehicle, the BlackRock Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), providing investors access to yields denominated in USD. Specifically, shares are issued as tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, leveraging the ERC-20 token standard, underpinning the BUIDL token.

The BUIDL token allows participants to buy into the fund, which primarily invests in short-term financial instruments, including U.S. Treasury bills, representing a move towards digitizing traditional financial assets.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust is one of the largest spot Bitcoin ETFs, currently holding over $18.5 billion. It also has the largest cumulative net inflow, at $14.95 billion. With the latest collaboration with Circle, the investment management fund will broaden the utility and appeal of BUIDL.

In recent weeks, Circle has embarked on several strategic initiatives to expand its influence within the blockchain industry. The company integrated its USDC stablecoin natively into the zkSync ecosystem, enhancing transactional efficiency and scalability. Additionally, Circle has partnered with Solana to introduce its cross-chain transfer protocol into the Solana blockchain ecosystem.