BlackRock and Nomura Securities: A Comparative Study of Asset Tokenization Paths and Future Outlook

Author: Zhang Feng

In the wave of global financial digitalization, “asset tokenization” is becoming the core bridge connecting traditional finance and the digital economy. Larry Fink, CEO of the world's largest asset management company BlackRock, refers to it as “the next revolution in financial markets,” while Japanese financial giant Nomura Securities is exploring a tokenization path that aligns with its positioning in a complex and ever-changing market environment.

Although both aim to achieve efficient liquidity and value reconstruction of assets through tokenization, their business backgrounds, strategic layouts, profit models, and the challenges they face show distinct differences. This article will conduct a comparative analysis of the tokenization practices of the two institutions from multiple dimensions and explore their future development trends in conjunction with case studies.

1. The Fundamental Differences Between Global Vision and Regional Deep Cultivation

BlackRock's Digital Transformation as a Global Asset Management Giant. As a leader in the global asset management industry, BlackRock's business scale and strategic foresight together form a solid foundation for its advancement in tokenization. By the third quarter of 2025, BlackRock's assets under management (AUM) had reached $13.5 trillion, a figure that not only reflects its market influence but also provides ample funding, technology, and customer resources for its exploration in the field of tokenization.

It is worth noting that Larry Fink's attitude towards digital assets has undergone a significant shift from “skeptic” to “advocate.” He had publicly criticized Bitcoin as a “money laundering index,” but in recent years he has repeatedly emphasized the strategic significance of blockchain technology and asset tokenization, even likening crypto assets to “digital gold,” believing they play an irreplaceable role in portfolio diversification. This shift in high-level cognition provides top-level support for BlackRock's full embrace of tokenization.

Nomura Securities: Lessons in Internationalization and Business Restructuring for a Local Giant. As Japan's largest investment bank and securities company, Nomura's business is deeply rooted in the Japanese market, while also being influenced by its internationalization journey. In the fiscal year ending March 2025, Nomura achieved a record annual net profit of 340.7 billion yen, demonstrating its strong profitability in the domestic Japanese market.

However, Nomura's international business expansion has not been smooth. The integration challenges faced after acquiring part of Lehman Brothers' assets in 2008, along with the approximately $2.9 billion loss resulting from the Archegos capital event in 2021, have made it more cautious in its internationalization strategy. These experiences have also prompted Nomura to pay more attention to risk control and business synergy when promoting tokenization, especially in selectively focusing on advantageous areas within regional markets.

2. Differentiated Choices of Strategic Pathways

BlackRock Builds a “Full Asset Tokenization” Ecosystem. BlackRock's tokenization strategy is highly systematic and ecological. Its core goal is to tokenize traditional financial assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate through blockchain technology, and integrate them into digital wallets, allowing investors to build a diversified portfolio on the same platform.

This strategy has been preliminarily validated through two categories of representative products:

iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT): In less than 450 days, its assets under management surpassed $100 billion, becoming the fastest-growing ETF product in history. The success of IBIT not only reflects strong market demand for digital assets but also provides BlackRock with confidence to further expand its tokenized product line.

Tokenized Currency Market Fund BUIDL: Since its launch in March 2024, its AUM has grown to nearly $3 billion. BUIDL not only provides investors with on-chain yield options but also showcases the potential of tokenization in enhancing asset liquidity and reducing transaction costs.

BlackRock's tokenization path is essentially “extending from traditional to digital,” with advantages in its large inventory of assets and customer base, as well as strong product design capabilities.

Nomura Securities' exploration of tokenization in business restructuring. Unlike BlackRock's comprehensive layout, Nomura's path to tokenization is more pragmatic and localized. In the face of challenges in China's wealth management business— including the impact of the “common prosperity” policy, slowing economic growth, and fierce competition— Nomura is shrinking its related businesses and plans to focus resources on asset management and research.

At the same time, Nomura is returning to the cash prime brokerage business in Europe and the U.S., a move that may create synergies with its tokenization strategy. For example, improving transaction settlement efficiency through blockchain technology, or providing digital asset custody services for institutional clients. Nomura also strengthened its influence in the Western market by acquiring Macquarie Group's public asset management business in the U.S. and Europe, gaining approximately $180 billion in client assets. Nomura's exploration of tokenization is more driven by “business pain points,” gradually advancing technological integration and model innovation while maintaining stability in traditional business.

3. Management Fee Dominance and Trading Drive

BlackRock's asset management fees and ecological returns go hand in hand. BlackRock's tokenized profit model is closely aligned with its traditional business, primarily relying on asset management fees and ecological returns. By tokenizing traditional assets, BlackRock can reach a group of digital asset investors that have not been adequately served by traditional financial institutions. According to estimates from Morgan Stanley, the total value of crypto assets, stablecoins, and tokenized assets currently exceeds $4.5 trillion, and these funds “are currently unable to access long-term investment products.”

The success of the BUIDL fund has not only brought considerable management fee income but has also laid the market foundation for BlackRock to issue more tokenized products in the future, such as tokenized bonds and REITs. As the category of tokenized assets continues to diversify, BlackRock is expected to generate additional revenue from derivative services such as trading services and custody solutions, in addition to asset management fees.

Nomura's core business is trading and merger consulting. Nomura's profit structure relies more on trading business and merger consulting fees. In the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2025, revenue in its global markets division grew by 7%, with stock trading revenue soaring by 24%. This performance has positioned Nomura alongside investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as beneficiaries amidst market fluctuations.

In the tokenization field, Nomura's profit model may lean more towards:

• Provide tokenized asset structuring and issuance services for institutional clients;

• Support digital asset trading and lending through prime brokerage services;

• Integrate tokenization solutions into merger and acquisition consulting to enhance transaction efficiency.

Although Nomura has not yet launched large-scale tokenized fund products like BlackRock, its experience in trade execution and cross-border operations may become an important support for its future tokenized profits.

Four, Grand Vision and Pragmatic Strategy Coexist

BlackRock Leads the Wave of “Tokenization of All Assets.” Larry Fink has a grand vision for tokenization. He cites predictions from Mordor Intelligence that the market size of tokenized assets will exceed $20 trillion by 2025 and is expected to surpass $13 trillion by 2030. BlackRock views tokenization as “the next wave of opportunity for the coming decades” and is strategically focusing on it at the group level.

Wall Street is also optimistic about BlackRock's tokenization strategy. Morgan Stanley reiterated its “overweight” rating on its stock and listed “tokenization of all assets” as one of the key investment themes. It is foreseeable that BlackRock will continue to drive tokenization from niche experimentation to mainstream application through product innovation, partnerships, and technological investment.

Nomura Securities focuses on regional strengths and business restructuring. Nomura's development strategy places greater emphasis on regional advantages and business restructuring. After acquiring related assets from Macquarie, Nomura further strengthened its asset management capabilities in the U.S. market. At the same time, the company is seeking a new CEO for its Chinese joint venture brokerage and plans to enhance its sales and trading operations in China.

In terms of tokenization, Nomura may adopt a “pilot first” strategy, such as promoting the tokenization of real estate or artworks within Japan, or exploring digital securities issuance in the Southeast Asian market through joint venture platforms. This region-focused strategy, while not as aggressive as BlackRock's, aligns more closely with its resource endowments and risk preferences.

5. Dual Test of Technical Regulation and Market Adaptability

The Long-Term Game of Technology and Regulation for BlackRock. Although BlackRock has a first-mover advantage in the tokenization field, it still faces multiple challenges:

Technology Maturity: Tokenization is still in its early stages, and the scalability, interoperability, and security of blockchain networks have not yet been comprehensively tested through large-scale asset issuance.

Regulatory uncertainty: Countries have not yet unified the classification, issuance, and trading rules for tokenized assets, and BlackRock needs to promote product innovation within a compliance framework.

Market acceptance: Traditional financial institutions and individual investors still need time to cultivate their understanding of tokenized assets, especially regarding the tokenization of non-standardized assets.

Nomura Securities regional risk and business transformation pressure. The challenges faced by Nomura are more direct and structured:

China Market Setbacks: Nomura Orient International Securities has accumulated losses of 618 million yuan since its establishment in 2019, reflecting its adaptation difficulties in the Chinese market.

Corporate governance issues: including disputes with former executives regarding labor disputes, insufficient product due diligence, etc., which may affect its brand reputation and strategic execution.

International business risks: Although re-entering the European and American markets presents opportunities, geopolitical fluctuations and intensifying competition still pose potential threats.

6. A Tokenized Future with Different Paths Leading to the Same Goal

The path choices of BlackRock and Nomura Securities in the field of tokenization reflect their respective corporate genes and market positioning. BlackRock, with its global resources and strategic vision, is committed to building a grand vision of “tokenization of all assets”; whereas Nomura, based on regional advantages and business restructuring, adopts a more cautious and phased tokenization strategy.

Despite the different paths, both point in the same direction: to enhance financial efficiency through asset tokenization, expand service boundaries, and ultimately promote the deep integration of the digital economy with the real economy. As technology matures and regulations become clearer, tokenization is expected to become an important engine for the evolution of the global financial system. The practices of BlackRock and Nomura not only provide a reference for their peers but also outline diverse possibilities for the digital transformation of the entire industry.