Tokenised ETF Market Overview 2026: Products, Platforms, and the Path to $15 Billion
Overview
The tokenised ETF market has grown from a conceptual curiosity to a $2.8 billion asset class in under three years. This growth has been driven not by retail speculation but by institutional conviction — BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, WisdomTree, and a parallel ecosystem of DeFi-native issuers have collectively validated the proposition that exchange-traded fund infrastructure can be rebuilt on blockchain rails with meaningful improvements in settlement speed, operational efficiency, and global accessibility.
This analysis examines the current state of the tokenised ETF market at the outset of 2026, cataloguing the products that exist, the infrastructure that supports them, the regulations that govern them, and the trajectory that will determine whether this category reaches $15 billion in AUM by 2028.
The Institutional Benchmark: BlackRock BUIDL
BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund — BUIDL — has become the reference product for the tokenised money market fund category. Launched in March 2024 on Ethereum via Securitize as the transfer agent and tokenisation platform, BUIDL crossed $520 million in AUM by early 2026, making it the largest single tokenised fund product in existence.
BUIDL invests in US Treasury bills, repurchase agreements, and cash, targeting a stable $1.00 per token NAV with daily accrued yield. The fund is available only to qualified purchasers with a $5 million minimum investment — this is not a retail product. Custody is provided by Bank of New York Mellon, with PricewaterhouseCoopers as auditor.
The significance of BUIDL extends beyond its AUM. It establishes that the world’s largest asset manager believes blockchain-native fund infrastructure is production-ready for institutional capital. Every compliance officer, fund board, and allocator committee evaluating tokenised products now has a reference point from an issuer whose risk profile is beyond question.
The DeFi-Native Parallel: Ondo Finance
Ondo Finance represents the alternative architecture for tokenised ETF-like exposure. Its flagship products — USDY (US Dollar Yield) and OUSG (Ondo Short-Term US Government Bond Fund) — provide tokenised access to US Treasury yield for non-US investors who face structural barriers to accessing traditional US money market funds.
OUSG is backed by BlackRock’s iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF (SHV) and offers daily redemptions into USDC. The product has attracted significant institutional and DeFi protocol treasury deposits, demonstrating that there is a large addressable market for tokenised sovereign yield exposure outside the traditional fund wrapper.
Product Landscape
The tokenised ETF market in 2026 spans four categories:
Tokenised Money Market Funds. BlackRock BUIDL, Franklin OnChain US Government Money Fund, and several smaller entrants. Combined AUM exceeds $1.5 billion.
Tokenised Treasury Products. Ondo OUSG, Backed Finance bIB01, Maple Finance, and others offering direct or synthetic exposure to US and European government bonds. Combined AUM approximately $900 million.
Tokenised Equity Index Products. Still nascent. Backed Finance’s bCSPX (tokenised S&P 500) and several DeFi-native index products offer equity exposure on-chain, but AUM remains below $200 million.
Tokenised Commodity Products. Paxos Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT) represent the most mature tokenised commodity ETF equivalents, with combined AUM exceeding $1 billion.
Regulatory Landscape
The regulatory environment for tokenised ETFs is fragmenting across jurisdictions in ways that create both risk and opportunity. The SEC has not explicitly approved tokenised ETF structures but has permitted BUIDL and Franklin OnChain to operate as registered investment companies with blockchain-based transfer agent functions. The EU’s MiCA framework accommodates tokenised fund-like products under the electronic money token category. Switzerland’s DLT Act provides full legal infrastructure for tokenised fund shares.
Outlook
The tokenised ETF market is positioned to reach $10-15 billion in AUM by 2028, driven by the entry of second-wave institutional issuers, the expansion of product categories beyond money markets, and the maturation of regulatory frameworks across key jurisdictions. The structural advantages of blockchain-native fund infrastructure — 24/7 settlement, instant cross-border transfers, programmable compliance, and elimination of intermediary layers — are now proven at institutional scale.
Donovan Vanderbilt, The Vanderbilt Portfolio AG, Zurich. March 2026.