Bitget Sees BlackRock and Wall Street Expanding in Asia
Bitget says it is talking with BlackRock and other Wall Street firms about distributing tokenized ETFs in Asia, where demand for crypto and on-chain products is growing fast.
Key Takeaways
- Bitget says it is talking with several major financial institutions about taking on a bigger role in Asia.
- CEO Gracy Chen names BlackRock as one of the firms looking to expand distribution of tokenized ETFs in the region.
- Asia is becoming more important for crypto, with 69% growth in blockchain-based transactions and a major role for Bitget.
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget says it is in talks with several major financial institutions about a bigger role in Asia. CEO Gracy Chen named BlackRock as an example of a firm that wants to expand the distribution of tokenized ETFs in the region. The timing fits a market where traditional asset managers are increasingly looking at crypto and blockchain as new distribution channels.
BlackRock Looks for More Reach
Chen told CoinDesk that she is talking with “all Wall Street giants” to understand where they are coming from and what cooperation could look like. According to her, there is also “very close contact” with BlackRock around distribution in the Asian market. BlackRock said its crypto ETPs are already available in Asia and that the company regularly speaks with virtual asset service providers on different projects.
The asset manager did not comment on specific expansion plans in Asia. Still, it is clear that BlackRock is continuing to build out its digital asset business. The company previously launched two tokenized money market funds, BSTBL and BRSRV, further broadening its on-chain offering for institutional players looking for access to high-quality reserve assets. That trend is also visible in Hong Kong: HashKey will tokenize Franklin Templeton fund and distribute it to digital asset investors in Asia.
Asia Is Becoming More Important
Asia is playing a bigger and bigger role in the crypto market. An OECD report said blockchain-based crypto transactions grew 69% year over year in June 2025, the highest growth of any region. BlackRock also manages $11.6 trillion (€10 trillion) in client assets and added a new digital asset role in Singapore to support its strategy in the region.
Bitget itself also has a strong footprint in the region. The company has 125 million registered users worldwide, about half of them in East and Southeast Asia. Chen also said that 52% of Bitget users in the first quarter of 2026 held both crypto and traditional stocks, which makes crypto exchanges interesting as a distribution channel for asset managers.
Why This Matters
For European crypto followers, this shows how quickly the line between traditional finance and crypto is blurring. Big players like BlackRock are not only looking for access to Bitcoin and Ethereum through ETPs, but also for ways to spread tokenized products more widely. That could matter for how crypto later becomes available through regulated channels in other regions, including Europe.
