U.S. Capital Coins Lead Gains: 18 Token Projects Linked to BlackRock and Other Traditional Asset Managers
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U.S. Capital Coins Lead Gains: 18 Token Projects Linked to BlackRock and Other Traditional Asset Managers
One of the most certain directions is empowering traditional finance and gaining support from major asset management firms.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: flowie, ChainCatcher
Editor: Nianqing, ChainCatcher
The current bull market that began in 2024 has been primarily driven by traditional financial asset management giants, led by BlackRock.
The recent altcoin season was first sparked by sectors such as RWA and payments—areas heavily invested in by these traditional finance giants. Tokens closely associated with firms like BlackRock—including Ondo, CRV, and ENA—have delivered particularly strong performance. During the broader market's sharp declines on December 10 and 11, these tokens also demonstrated relative resilience or faster rebounds.
Sectors and projects empowered by traditional finance, especially those backed by major traditional financial institutions, may represent one of the most certain directions in this bull cycle. ChainCatcher provides a brief overview of relevant projects. (Excludes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and related crypto ETFs.)
BlackRock
In March this year, BlackRock launched its tokenized fund BUIDL via the compliant tokenization platform Securitize. The fund now exceeds $550 million in size.
BUIDL is primarily deployed on Ethereum, but last month BlackRock announced expansions to Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism (OP), and Polygon. Recently, partners and affiliates linked to BUIDL have shown strong market performance.
1. Ondo Finance (Ondo)
Ondo surged nearly 40% last week, breaking above $1.93 to reach an all-time high before pulling back to around $1.86. It has gained over 100% in the past month and more than 880% over the past year. Its market cap is close to $2.6 billion, with an FDV exceeding $18 billion.
As a leading project in the RWA sector with deep ties to BlackRock, Ondo Finance has seen multiple price surges due to this association.
The two core products of Ondo Finance include OUSG, a tokenized U.S. Treasury product. Previously, the majority of OUSG’s portfolio consisted of BlackRock’s iShares Short-Term Treasury ETF (NASDAQ: SHV). After BlackRock launched its tokenized fund BUIDL in March, Ondo reallocated most of OUSG’s assets into BUIDL. OUSG currently holds over $180 million in TVL and has generated more than $25 million in returns for investors since launch.
Beyond its relationship with BlackRock, Ondo Finance has also publicly listed partnerships with Morgan Stanley, Ankura Trust, Clear Street, and NAV Consulting on X this year.
Ondo Finance’s core team largely comes from top-tier traditional asset managers. Co-founder and CEO Nathan Allman previously led global crypto digital markets at Goldman Sachs’ digital assets division. Other key team members come from firms such as Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and Bridgewater.
Besides U.S. Treasuries, Ondo plans to launch Ondo Global Markets on February 6, 2025, aiming to tokenize equities and bonds on-chain.
2. Curve (CRV)
As a veteran DeFi leader, CRV’s recent rally is also tied to its collaboration with BlackRock. Curve is a key partner for BlackRock’s entry into DeFi.
On November 30, Curve announced a partnership with blockchain network Elixir to expand access to BlackRock’s tokenized money market fund BUIDL within DeFi. Users will soon be able to mint Elixir’s yield-bearing stablecoin deUSD using BUIDL. Following the announcement, CRV rose from $0.50 to $0.80—a 60% increase—and approached $1.30 by December 7.
At time of writing, CRV trades at $1.16, up nearly 300% over the past month. Its market cap exceeds $1.4 billion, with an FDV over $2.5 billion. CRV’s historical peak was $60.50 in August 2020, while its low this year was $0.18 in August.
Beyond the BlackRock tie-up, growing demand in a bullish market has boosted Curve’s usage. Curve reported that after Trump took office, its revenue doubled from an average of $268,000 to $581,000 within two weeks.
Recently, CurveDAO also launched Savings crvUSD (scrvUSD), an interest-bearing stablecoin, expanding its use cases.
3. Ethena (ENA)
On November 29, stablecoin issuer Ethena and tokenization platform Securitize announced a forthcoming collaboration to launch USDtb, entering Sky (formerly MakerDAO)’s $1 billion tokenized asset competition.
USDtb’s reserves will be invested in BlackRock’s Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), making it the only stablecoin backed by BUIDL.
Following the news, ENA rose steadily from around $0.70, peaking above $1.14 last week and currently trading near $1.10—a nearly 80% gain over the past month. Its market cap exceeds $3.2 billion, with an FDV over $16.5 billion.
Ethena is also backed by Franklin Templeton.
4. Velo (VELO)
Velo is a blockchain-based global settlement network offering fast, secure, and low-cost cross-border payments for individuals and enterprises. DWF Labs made a strategic investment of $10 million in the project last year.
In September, Velo announced integration of BlackRock’s tokenized BUIDL fund into its USDV stablecoin, providing seamless trading and yield opportunities for over one million users across Southeast Asia.
VELO surged 50% last week, briefly surpassing $0.03 before settling around $0.026—an 84% increase over the past month. Its market cap is nearly $200 million, with an FDV close to $800 million.
Fidelity
5. Chainlink (LINK)
Oracle networks are essential for financial institutions engaging in asset tokenization. Chainlink enables institutions to connect on-chain and off-chain data, unlocking various DeFi applications.
This year, Chainlink partnered with several traditional asset managers, crypto leaders, Web2 giants, and even Trump-related crypto initiatives.
Chainlink collaborated with Fidelity International and Sygnum to bring real-time net asset value (NAV) data of Fidelity’s $6.9 billion institutional liquidity fund on-chain. It also completed a pilot project with Swiss banking giant UBS and SWIFT, enabling subscription and redemption settlements for tokenized funds via the SWIFT network.
21Shares integrated Chainlink’s Proof of Reserves system to ensure transparency for its Ethereum ETF; Sony’s Layer 2 network Soneium also selected Chainlink as a partner.
Notably, World Liberty, the Trump family’s crypto project, recently announced adoption of Chainlink’s on-chain data and cross-chain interoperability standards. In the past nine hours alone, World Liberty purchased over 40,000 LINK tokens.
Last week, LINK broke above $20, briefly reaching $27 before retreating. It rebounded today to surpass $29—a nearly 30% gain in 24 hours—and has risen almost 100% over the past month. The last time LINK traded above $20 was in January 2020. Its all-time high was $52.88 in May 2021.
At press time, LINK’s market cap exceeds $18 billion, with an FDV over $28.9 billion.
JPMorgan
6. Avalanche (Avax)
Avalanche’s native token Avax has performed well during the recent altcoin season, standing out among legacy layer-1 blockchains. Last week, Avax briefly surpassed $55 before settling around $50—a 37% gain over the past month. Its market cap exceeds $20.5 billion, with an FDV nearing $36 billion.
Beyond speculative narratives—such as hints from Ava Labs’ founder about ongoing discussions with the new U.S. administration—Avax’s rise may be attributed to its growing footprint in RWA.
Avalanche holds a significant advantage in RWA development: it allows developers and enterprises to create independent subnets. This enables RWA projects to establish dedicated subnets tailored to specific legal requirements across jurisdictions, enhancing compliance flexibility.
JPMorgan has a close relationship with Avalanche, leveraging its Onyx digital asset platform to build tokenized funds on Avalanche.
Other major asset managers, banks, payment leaders, government agencies, and stablecoin issuers have also adopted Avalanche.
In November, BlackRock included Avalanche among the multiple public chains where it expanded its BUIDL fund. Tether’s newly launched asset tokenization platform Hadron also selected Avalanche as one of its initial supported chains.
In October, Latin American bank Littio switched from Ethereum to Avalanche.
In August, Franklin Templeton extended its tokenized money market fund (FOBXX) to Avalanche, having previously launched on Stellar, Polygon, and Arbitrum.
Earlier this year, Citigroup partnered with WisdomTree and Wellington Management to conduct a proof-of-concept for tokenizing private equity funds on Spruce, an Avalanche subnet. California’s Department of Motor Vehicles also digitized ownership certificates for the state’s 42 million vehicles on Avalanche.
Franklin Templeton
Franklin Templeton’s tokenized fund FOBXX currently manages over $440 million. Initially issued on the Stellar blockchain, it has since expanded to Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, Aptos, Ethereum, and Base.
Franklin Templeton has invested in approximately 30 crypto projects, eight of which—Aptos (APT), Ethena (ENA), Sui (SUI), Puffer Finance (PUFFER), SHRAPNEL (SHRAP), LayerZero (ZRO), Spectral (SPEC), and Arcade (ARC)—have launched tokens.
Puffer Finance, Ethena, and SHRAPNEL were invested in within the past year. Among the tokens launched this year, PUFFER and ENA have shown the strongest performance. Ethena’s collaboration with BlackRock’s tokenized fund has already been covered earlier.
7. Stellar (XLM)
Stellar is another payment network founded by Jed McCaleb, co-founder of Ripple. Over half of Franklin Templeton’s FOBXX fund TVL resides on Stellar.
Stellar also collaborates with WisdomTree, whose short-term Treasury digital fund is issued on the network. WisdomTree launched the WisdomTree Prime app, leveraging Stellar to offer services across 41 U.S. states.
XLM has rallied multiple times over the past month, briefly exceeding $0.60 before settling around $0.44—a surge of over 260%. Its market cap exceeds $13.3 billion, with an FDV over $22.1 billion.
8. Sui (SUI)
Beyond investing in Sui, Franklin Templeton announced a strategic partnership in November focused on supporting builders in the Sui ecosystem and deploying new technologies using the Sui blockchain protocol.
SUI currently trades at $4.81, up over 53% in the past month. Its market cap exceeds $14.1 billion, with an FDV over $48.1 billion.
9. Aptos (APT)
Besides direct investment, Franklin Templeton’s FOBXX fund has now expanded to Aptos.
APT trades at $13.87, with modest gains over the past month—peaking above $15. Its market cap exceeds $7.4 billion, with an FDV of $15.6 billion.
10. Puffer Finance (PUFFER)
Puffer Finance is a liquid restaking protocol built on EigenLayer. In April, it raised $18 million, with participation from Franklin Templeton and Avon Ventures—the venture arm of Fidelity Investments.
Last week, PUFFER surged toward $1 before retreating to $0.82—an increase of nearly 130% over the past month. Its current market cap is over $84 million, with an FDV exceeding $820 million.
11. LayerZero (ZRO)
As one of the three major cross-chain protocols, LayerZero has delivered strong performance recently. Last week, ZRO hit an all-time high above $7.40 before pulling back to $6.98—a 77% gain over the past month. Its market cap stands at $760 million, with an FDV of $6.9 billion.
An upcoming highlight is the community vote scheduled for December 19 to activate fee burning.
The proposal would enable the LayerZero protocol to charge fees equal to the total cost of validating and executing cross-chain messages. If governance approves activation, fees collected by the fiscal contract on each chain would be burned.
12. SHRAPNEL (SHRAP)
SHRAPNEL is a AAA-class FPS game backed by notable investors including Polychain, IOSG Ventures, Dragonfly, DeFiance Capital, Mechanism Capital, and Spartan Group.
However, internal conflict emerged within the Shrapnel team at the end of last year, with Neon Machine—the Shrapnel game studio—reporting legal disputes with several investors over attempts to seize company control and treasury assets.
SHRAP currently trades at $0.04, with a market cap over $33 million and an FDV exceeding $124 million.
13. Spectral (SPEC)
Spectral initially started as a machine intelligence network on Base and has evolved into a platform enabling AI-powered smart contract programming.
In March, Spectral launched Syntax, an AI application that allows anyone to generate, compile, debug, and deploy Solidity smart contracts for Ethereum and dozens of other blockchains.
Besides Franklin Templeton, early investors in Spectral include Polychain Capital, Galaxy Digital, Samsung, Circle Ventures, and Jump Capital.
Amid the recent AI sector rally, SPEC briefly surged past $18—an all-time high—before retreating to $13. Its market cap exceeds $183 million, with an FDV over $1.3 billion.
14. Arcade (ARC)
Arcade is a GameFi platform allowing communities to earn meaningful rewards from various play-and-earn metaverse games without directly playing or owning in-game NFTs. Franklin Templeton invested in Arcade in 2021, alongside Pantera Capital, Crypto.com Capital, Solana Ventures, Shima Capital, GSR, LD Capital, and KuCoin Labs.
Earlier this year, Crypto.com Capital, Solana Ventures, Shima Capital, GSR, and KuCoin Labs reinvested in Arcade.
ARC currently trades at $0.038, with a market cap under $1 million and an FDV of over $30 million.
VanEck
Beyond its connection with Pudgy Penguins, VanEck announced in October a $30 million venture fund dedicated to supporting innovation in crypto and AI.
The firm has previously invested in at least seven crypto projects, three of which—GEODNET (GEOD), Parallel (PRIME), and 1inch (1INCH)—have launched tokens.
15. Pudgy Penguins (PENGU)
Last week, Pudgy Penguins—which plans to launch its token and conduct an airdrop before the end of 2024—saw its floor price surge past 27 ETH. The brand also maintains ties with VanEck.
In June, asset manager VanEck changed its X profile picture to a Pudgy Penguin, captioning it: “The boss thinks it’s too cute not to use as a PFP.” Pudgy Penguins has also appeared in VanEck’s ETH ETF promotional video.
However, recent reports indicate the Pudgy Penguins token will launch on Solana.
16. Parallel (PRIME)
Parallel is a sci-fi-themed collectible card game (TCG) developed by veterans from AAA titles like Assassin’s Creed and Valorant, with Chad Hurley, co-founder of YouTube, also involved.
Beyond VanEck, the project has received backing from Paradigm, Solana Ventures, Base, Amber Group, and Spartan Group. Its first funding round in 2021 secured $50 million from Paradigm at a $500 million valuation.
This year, Parallel launched Colony—an AI survival simulation game—on Solana, and unveiled an AI crypto gaming moonshot initiative.
PRIME currently trades at $15.78, up over 53% in just one month. Its market cap exceeds $566 million, with an FDV over $1.7 billion.
17. GEODNET (GEOD)
GEODNET is a DePIN project utilizing novel rooftop weather stations to collect dense, real-time geospatial data from Earth and its atmosphere. Investors include Animoca Brands, Pantera Capital, CoinFund, and IoTeX. Animoca Brands has also formed a strategic partnership with GEODNET.
GEOD currently trades at $0.24, showing no significant recent momentum. Its market cap exceeds $48 million, with an FDV over $240 million.
18. 1inch (1INCH)
1inch, a veteran DEX aggregator and the second-largest by market share, briefly broke above $0.60 last week before retreating to $0.51—a 63% gain over the past month. Its market cap exceeds $720 million, with an FDV over $777 million.
Following the price surge, the 1inch team sold 15.698 million 1INCH tokens for 8.38 million USDC between December 5 and 7, at an average price of $0.533.
WisdomTree
Beyond filing for an XRP ETF, WisdomTree has been actively tokenizing funds and other RWA products.
Recently, WisdomTree announced that users can now spend funds directly from its government money market digital fund (WTGXX) using its Visa debit card. The fund currently manages approximately $12 million in assets.
Additionally, WisdomTree launched an RWA platform enabling users to access regulated fund tokens through any wallet or blockchain network, with plans to further expand access.
WisdomTree also obtained a NYDFS license and plans to launch a crypto app called WisdomTree Prime.
Its short-term Treasury digital fund, launched in 2022, was initially deployed on Ethereum and Stellar. WisdomTree also conducted a proof-of-concept for tokenizing private equity funds on Spruce, an Avalanche subnet.
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs’ moves in the crypto space in 2025 are worth watching.
Recent market rumors suggest that the CEO stated the firm would “evaluate” participation in Bitcoin or Ethereum markets if regulators permit. Increased attention to cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin could signal a significant shift.
Earlier this year, Goldman’s head of digital assets indicated plans to launch three tokenization projects by year-end, including its first U.S.-based initiative. The firm is expanding its crypto services with a focus on tokenization, issuing “real-world assets” such as money market funds and real estate via public or private blockchains.
So far, Goldman Sachs has not disclosed further details about its tokenized fund projects or partners—worth monitoring going forward.
Previously, Goldman Sachs invested in Circle, BitGo, Blockdaemon, and CertiK—projects in asset management or infrastructure.
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