In recent developments, major traditional finance firms, including BlackRock, Citadel Securities, and Apollo Global Management, have begun acquiring governance tokens of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to support their infrastructure for tokenized products. BlackRock notably purchased UNI tokens and brought its tokenized Treasury fund BUIDL on-chain via UniswapX, while Citadel acquired ZRO tokens in support of LayerZero’s blockchain initiative. This shift comes after years where large financial firms limited their crypto involvement primarily to equity stakes and pilot programs. The change is underpinned by significant improvements in custody and operational infrastructure, as well as positive regulatory developments, such as the repeal of the Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121, which had made crypto custody costly for public companies, and the SEC’s closure of several investigations without enforcement action, easing barriers for institutional participation in crypto markets.
BlackRock, Citadel, Apollo buy DeFi tokens to align with infrastructure
