BlackRock: Ethereum Poised to Lead Wall Street Tokenization, Holds BUIDL on ETH

BlackRock highlights Ethereum's central role in the tokenization of real-world assets, with 65% of such assets built on the network, according to its 2026 thematic outlook published January 21, 2026. The firm suggests Ethereum could become the "toll road" for blockchain-based financial markets. Jay Jacobs, BlackRock’s U.S. Head of Equity ETFs, said Ethereum benefits from rising institutional adoption, including stablecoin issuance and tokenized asset trading. BlackRock’s $1.6 billion tokenized fund BUIDL holds nearly $500 million on Ethereum. The firm’s Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs manage $70.6 billion and $10.7 billion, respectively. While 10 blockchains support tokenized assets, only Bitcoin and Ethereum are emphasized in the report. Despite DTCC’s use of the Canton Network for a $362 billion pilot, Ethereum leads in wallet-managed real-world assets at $13.2 billion. Jacobs noted that regulatory clarity and market infrastructure remain key hurdles, calling the trend “early” but accelerating.