- Fireblocks’ acquisition of BlockFold will expand its tokenization capabilities to serve customers better.
- The crypto custody company expects the value of tokenized money and bonds to be valued in billions in the next three years.
Crypto custody company Fireblocks has acquired Blockfold, a smart contract development and consulting firm, to improve its tokenization capabilities through the Fireblocks Network.
The acquisition comes as the latest effort in the company’s collaboration with tokenization solutions like Bitbond, Securrency, and Tokeny to create an accessible marketplace for customers.
According to a BCG report, the tokenization of financial assets on the market has a forecast worth $16 million by 2030 and will represent 10% of all financial assets. With tokenization reinventing the decades-old process and infrastructure of banking and financial markets, Fireblocks has recorded massive growth in demand, a 350% increase in tokenization projects between 2022 and 2023, and 75% of tier-1 financial institutions exploring tokenization via its platform.
Micheal Shaulov, co-founder and CEO of Fireblocks, stated that the company’s expertise would fill a gap in the market, providing tailored solutions to customers in the banking and financial sector. He added;
“We already speak a common language in understanding these customers’ requirements at an architectural level. Bringing BlockFold’s expertise in-house means that we can better serve tier-1 financial institutions to quickly and seamlessly bring tokenization projects into production and new assets onto the blockchain. In addition, we can continue to innovate and expand our offerings and tailor our approaches as the market continues to mature and evolve.”
The crypto technology entity expects the value of tokenized money on the blockchain to reach $450 billion.
Fireblocks Giant Stride in the Finance and Banking Sector
Fireblocks has made its mark in the banking and finance space through previous partnerships and acquisitions.
Last year, it acquired First Digital, a stablecoin technology platform, to expand its payment channels, allowing PSP to accept crypto payments from users. It also issued its stablecoin and has introduced more than ten stablecoin projects.
Fireblocks enabled the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and the Israeli Ministry of Finance to tokenize and settle a government bond in May 2023 after a live auction involving five domestic and seven global banks. As the sole issuer of the Israeli government bonds, the tech company has projected the worth of tokenized bonds on the blockchain to hit $400 billion in 2026.
Orly Grinfeld, EVP, Head of Clearing at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, supported the BlockFold acquisition, highlighting its advantages in bridging the gap between CeFi and DeFi while allowing financial institutions to create sustainable infrastructure and ecosystems.
Speaking on the Tel Aviv agreement, he said,
“… we have witnessed firsthand the results of TASE’s vision and the uniqueness of Fireblocks and BlockFold’s collaboration. We are excited to continue working with the team and developing new digital asset products and services for the market to propel TASE into the future.”
Fireblocks is also reportedly in the works with London-based HBSC. This global financial institution lets its Hong Kong customers trade in Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds.
