BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund Breaks Barriers: Top Crypto Exchanges Now Accept It as Collateral

Crypto just got a Wall Street stamp of approval—and TradFi is sweating.

BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, the $10B blockchain-based tokenized treasure chest, just unlocked a game-changer: major exchanges now accept it as collateral. No more liquidating your BTC to cover margin calls—just park your BUIDL and keep hodling.

Here’s why it matters:

-
Institutional muscle meets DeFi
: When CEXs treat BUIDL like BTC, it signals crypto’s creeping legitimacy (and yes, the irony of using a TradFi product to boost crypto liquidity isn’t lost on us).

-
Collateral without capitulation
: Traders can now avoid forced sell-offs during dips—unless BlackRock decides to rug-pull, which would be *very* on-brand for 2025.

One cynical footnote: Nothing says ‘adoption’ like hedge funds repackaging old financial products with blockchain glitter. But hey—if it pumps your bags, who’s complaining?

— Deribit (@DeribitOfficial) June 18, 2025

Keep on BUIDLing

Crypto investors have traditionally faced a difficult choice when posting collateral on exchanges and lending platforms. They can use stablecoins that don’t generate big returns, or volatile crypto assets that risk amplifying losses during market downturns.

There is now a third option that is both stable and yield-generating.

BUIDL currently pays around 4.5% annually, which is better than most high street banks, and it also maintains stability.

Additionally, exchanges can offer lower minimum collateral requirements since it’s less risky, and investors can earn yield on their collateral instead of leaving it idle while more capital is freed up for actual trading.

“We’re really starting to see not just the emergence but a real solidification of tokenized securities becoming a challenger to stablecoins as the common denominator across the crypto ecosystem,” Sonnenshein said.

“They’re now becoming what we WOULD consider programmable productive capital, as opposed to just a passive investment instrument used for yield or a safe place to park capital.”

BUIDL has grown to $2.9 billion in assets under management since launching in March 2024.

Meanwhile, Crypto.com will offer it to institutional clients across all trading services, and Deribit, which was acquired by Coinbase, where it will soon be accepted, will accept it for futures and options trading.

Deribit CEO Luuk Strijers said 80% to 85% of the firm’s business is institutional, “and we are getting more of these traditional firms that don’t necessarily hold a lot of crypto but hold a lot of dollars and don’t want to miss out on yield.”

RWA Tokenization Outlook

The tokenized real-world-asset sector currently has just shy of a record $24 billion tokenized onchain, according to RWA.xyz.

It has seen more than 50% growth since the beginning of this year, and BUIDL has the largest asset market share with 12% of the total.

Ethereum remains the industry standard for tokenized RWA with a network market share of almost 60%.