Securitize and Ethena Open $100M Liquidity Facility for BUIDL

Eligible holders of BlackRock's tokenized BUIDL fund can now swap their shares for stablecoins on a weekend or in the middle of the night, and swap back again. The 24/7 facility, launched by Securitize and Ethena Labs on Nov. 12, supports USDC among its stablecoins and runs outside traditional market hours.

It opens with $50 million in liquidity, split evenly between BUIDL and USDC at $25 million each. Another $50 million may become available within about an hour as the initial pool is used, for a maximum capacity of $100 million, according to Securitize's Nov. 12 announcement. Securitize, acting as the regulated transfer agent, operates the facility, and Ethena supports it.

The $100 million figure deserves care. It is a ceiling, not cash sitting ready at all times. Securitize cautioned that additional liquidity might not arrive when expected, or at all, and that facility terms could be changed, suspended or terminated. Access is limited to eligible investors rather than the general public.

"Digital assets operate around the clock, and institutional liquidity needs to keep pace,"

Guy Young, Ethena Labs founder

The mechanism is easiest to picture as a market maker that never closes. A tokenized fund share can move on a blockchain at any hour, but turning it into stablecoins has been tied to traditional market hours. A standing pool holding both assets lets a holder swap directly, in either direction, without waiting for the next business day.

The initiative was first announced in June, and this launch puts that framework into operation. Nor is it the first round-the-clock exit for BUIDL: Circle announced a smart contract in April 2024 that let BUIDL investors transfer shares to Circle for USDC at any time. What sets the new facility apart is that it works explicitly in both directions.

"With this facility now live, we're taking another step toward a financial system where institutional investors can access liquidity when they need it, not just when traditional markets are open,"

Carlos Domingo, co-founder and CEO of Securitize

Several details remain unpublished. Securitize's release names USDC but does not list every supported stablecoin, and it leaves out eligibility criteria, swap fees, minimum sizes, the entity funding Ethena's support and per-swap settlement time.

What it means for the market

BUIDL is a $2.4 billion tokenized Treasury fund, so even the full $100 million ceiling covers only a small slice of it. Very large redemptions would still run through the fund's standard processes, and the ability to move a token at any hour is not the same as having a buyer ready to exchange it for stablecoins.

There is also a concentration question. BUIDL, Securitize as transfer agent and Ethena's USDtb, a stablecoin primarily backed by BUIDL, are now more tightly linked, so stress in one part would likely be felt in the others.

For Securitize, the launch comes days after its agreement to acquire lending platform River One, a deal aimed at linking stablecoin capital with lending markets.