BlackRock CEO Larry Fink used the World Economic Forum stage to argue that tokenization needs to move from pilot programs to market plumbing and suggested that shared blockchain standards could reduce costs and even “reduce corruption,” but the framework immediately reignited the “which chain?” debate. Discussions within cryptocurrencies in general and the Ethereum community in particular.
Mr. Fink did not name the network. But BlackRock’s on-chain product footprint, combined with its unique research position, makes Ethereum the most natural candidate for the “one common blockchain” he alluded to, even if it remains implicit.
Fink’s remarks were delivered in the language of infrastructure rather than cryptocurrency evangelism, and were heavily focused on the operational case for digitized assets and interoperable payment rails.
“I think we need to move towards tokenization, towards decimalisation. It’s ironic that we see two emerging countries leading the world in tokenizing and digitizing their currencies – Brazil and India. I think we need to move towards that very quickly.”
He also expanded this discussion beyond payments to capital markets. “If you can make all your investments on a tokenized platform that can go from tokenized money market funds to stocks and bonds, it will further democratize by cutting fees and cutting more fees.”
The most provocative line was his call for standardization and the trade-offs that come with it. “If we had one common blockchain, we could reduce corruption. So, I would argue that certainly there is probably more reliance on one blockchain. We can all talk about that, but that being said, the activity is probably handled more securely than it has been in the past.”
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said at the World Economic Forum that he believes a move toward tokenization and digitization is necessary. We need to move towards that very quickly. Using one common blockchain can reduce corruption.
“One common blockchain” mentioned by Larry Fink… https://t.co/sMMcg4oyN1 pic.twitter.com/VhRvuwCx00
— Ethereum Daily (@ETH_Daily) January 22, 2026
Why Ethereum is here
In summary, “one common blockchain” can be read as a general appeal for shared rails. In fact, BlackRock’s public market cryptocurrency lineup and its tokenization efforts are centered around Bitcoin and Ethereum.
On the ETF side, BlackRock’s flagship US spot products track Bitcoin and Ether (iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA)). ETHA was launched in 2024 and is currently the core of the company’s public Ethereum exposure.
On the tokenization front, BlackRock’s first tokenized fund, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), debuted on Ethereum via Securitize in March 2024, making Ethereum the original issuance network for what has become one of the hottest institutional RWAs on the market.
Although BUIDL has expanded to multiple networks over time, the key to Fink’s “common blockchain” framework is that Ethereum is BlackRock’s default starting point for public chain issuance, a meaningful signal in a market where “standards” already tend to follow those with the deepest liquidity, the broadest integration surface, and the most conservative counterparties.
This week, more powerful information came from a BlackRock investigation than a Davos soundbite. In its 2026 Thematic Outlook, BlackRock articulates the idea of Ethereum as an infrastructure layer that will collect “fees” as tokenization scales. One slide asks, “Could Ethereum represent a ‘toll road’ to tokenization?” He added that the adoption of stablecoins could “actually” be an early proxy for tokenization, as “blockchains like Ethereum” stand to benefit.
In the same section, BlackRock cites RWA data “as of January 5, 2026” and states that “more than 65% of tokenized assets are on Ethereum,” highlighting the network’s lead in today’s tokenized asset stack.
At the time of writing, ETH was trading at $3,005.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart on TradingView.com
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