Bitget explores tokenized ETF distribution deal with BlackRock
RWA & Tokenization ·
The exchange is reportedly in early conversations with major Wall Street institutions about bringing tokenized ETF products to customers across Asia.
Bitget, a top-ten crypto exchange, is holding discussions with Wall Street firms — including BlackRock — around expanding the distribution of tokenized exchange-traded funds in Asian markets, according to Coindesk. No terms, timeline, or list of specific ETF products has been disclosed publicly.
The talks fit a pattern the exchange has followed since it built its early identity around copy-trading and later acquired a self-custodial wallet, now used by roughly 90 million people. Bitget has increasingly moved beyond spot and derivatives trading into tokenized real-world assets: it opened a pre-IPO trading venue with SpaceX as its first listed asset, and it has partnered with Republic to bring pre-IPO tokens to retail users on Solana. A tokenized ETF distribution arrangement with a firm the size of BlackRock would extend that strategy from private-company shares into regulated fund products.
Why this matters for the exchange's positioning is tied to its regulatory footprint. Bitget holds licenses or registrations in Poland, Lithuania, Canada, and Australia, but like most offshore venues it lacks a US broker-dealer or exchange license and does not serve US customers. Distributing tokenized ETFs in Asia would let it deepen ties with a traditional asset manager without needing to clear US regulatory hurdles, potentially giving it a foothold in a product category dominated by conventional finance.
The development sits alongside other recent moves that show the exchange leaning further into asset tokenization and platform expansion, including a teased "New Opportunity Awaits" launch and the broader Pre-IPO Zone it introduced in 2025 for trading allocations in companies expected to go public. Coverage of the exchange has also included scrutiny of its market conduct, such as a joint investigation with Binance into a token price spike, underscoring that Bitget's expansion into new asset classes is unfolding alongside continued questions about oversight of its existing markets.
What remains unresolved is whether the discussions with BlackRock and other Wall Street firms will produce a formal agreement, what regulatory clearances such a product would require in individual Asian jurisdictions, and how tokenized ETF shares would be structured or custodied relative to the underlying funds. The cluster currently rests on two corroborating reports, with no confirmation yet from BlackRock or Bitget on deal terms.