Amid the global wave of financial digitalization, "asset tokenization" is becoming a core bridge connecting traditional finance and the digital economy. Larry Fink, CEO of the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, has called it "the next revolution in financial markets," while Japanese financial giant Nomura is exploring a tokenization path that aligns with its own positioning in a complex and ever-changing market environment.

Although both share the same goal—achieving efficient asset flow and value reconstruction through tokenization—their business backgrounds, strategic layouts, profit models, and the challenges they face show distinct differences. This article will provide a comparative analysis of the tokenization practices of these two institutions from multiple dimensions and discuss their future development trends in conjunction with case studies.

I. Divergent Foundations: Global Vision vs. Regional Deep Cultivation

BlackRock: The Digital Transformation of 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 advancing tokenization. As of the third quarter of 2025, BlackRock's Assets Under Management (AUM) had reached $13.5 trillion. This figure not only reflects its market influence but also provides ample capital, technological, and client resources for its exploration in the tokenization field.

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

Nomura: A Domestic Giant's International Lessons and Business Reshaping. As Japan's largest investment bank and securities firm, Nomura's business roots are deeply embedded in the Japanese market, while also being significantly influenced by its internationalization journey. In the fiscal year ending March 2025, Nomura achieved a record high annual net profit of 340.7 billion yen, demonstrating its strong profitability in the domestic Japanese market.

However, Nomura's path to international business expansion has not been smooth. The integration challenges following the acquisition of part of Lehman Brothers' assets in 2008, and the approximately $2.9 billion loss due to the Archegos collapse in 2021, have made it more cautious in its international strategy. These experiences have also prompted Nomura to place greater emphasis on risk control and business synergy when promoting tokenization, especially by selectively focusing on advantageous areas in regional markets.

II. Differentiated Strategic Path Choices

BlackRock: Building 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 diversified portfolios on the same platform.

This strategy has been preliminarily validated through two representative products:

1. iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT): Its AUM surpassed $100 billion in less than 450 days, making it the fastest-growing ETF product in history. IBIT's success not only reflects strong market demand for digital assets but also provides confidence for BlackRock to further expand its tokenized product line.

2. Tokenized Money Market Fund BUIDL: Since its launch in March 2024, its AUM has grown to nearly $30 billion. BUIDL not only provides investors with on-chain yield options but also demonstrates the potential of tokenization in enhancing asset liquidity and reducing transaction costs.

BlackRock's tokenization path is essentially an "extension from traditional to digital," with advantages lying in its vast stock of assets and client base, as well as strong product design capabilities.

Nomura: Tokenization Exploration Amid Business Restructuring. Unlike BlackRock's comprehensive layout, Nomura's tokenization path is more pragmatic and localized. Facing development difficulties in its China wealth management business—including the impact of the "common prosperity" policy, slowing economic growth, and fierce competition—Nomura is scaling back related businesses and plans to focus resources on asset management and research businesses.

At the same time, Nomura is returning to cash prime brokerage businesses in Europe and the US. This move could create synergies with its tokenization strategy. For example, improving trade settlement efficiency through blockchain technology or providing digital asset custody services for institutional clients. Nomura also acquired Macquarie Group's US and European public asset management businesses, gaining approximately $180 billion in client assets, further strengthening its influence in Western markets. Nomura's tokenization exploration tends to be more "driven by business pain points," gradually promoting technological integration and model innovation while maintaining the stability of traditional businesses.

III. Management Fee Dominance vs. Transaction-Driven Models

BlackRock: Asset Management Fees and Ecosystem Revenue in Parallel. BlackRock's tokenization profit model is consistent with its traditional business, relying primarily on asset management fees and ecosystem revenue. By tokenizing traditional assets, BlackRock can reach the digital asset investor demographic currently underserved by traditional financial institutions. According to Morgan Stanley estimates, the total value of current crypto assets, stablecoins, and tokenized assets exceeds $4.5 trillion, and these funds "currently have no access to long-term investment products."

The success of the BUIDL fund has not only brought considerable management fee income but also laid a market foundation for BlackRock to issue more tokenized products (such as tokenized bonds, REITs, etc.) in the future. As tokenized asset categories continue to enrich, BlackRock is expected to gain additional revenue through derivative businesses such as transaction services and custody solutions, beyond asset management fees.

Nomura: Core Focus on Transaction Business and M&A Advisory. Nomura's profit structure relies more on transaction business and M&A advisory fees. In Q4 of the 2025 fiscal year, its global markets division revenue grew by 7%, with equity trading business revenue jumping 24%. This performance made Nomura, along with investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, a beneficiary of market volatility.

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

• Providing institutional clients with structure design and issuance services for tokenized assets;

• Supporting digital asset trading and lending through prime brokerage business;

• Integrating tokenization solutions into M&A advisory to improve transaction efficiency.

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

IV. Coexistence of Grand Vision and Pragmatic Strategy

BlackRock: Leading the Wave of "Tokenizing All Assets". Larry Fink's vision for tokenization is extremely grand. Citing a prediction from Mordor Intelligence, he pointed out that the tokenized asset market size exceeded $2 trillion in 2025 and is expected to surpass $13 trillion by 2030. BlackRock has identified tokenization as "the next wave of opportunity for the coming decades" and is focusing on it strategically at the group level.

Wall Street also holds a positive attitude towards BlackRock's tokenization layout. Morgan Stanley reiterated its "overweight" rating on BlackRock's stock and listed "tokenization of all assets" as one of the key investment themes. It is foreseeable that BlackRock will continue to promote tokenization from the fringe to the mainstream through product innovation, partnerships, and technological investment.

Nomura: Advancing Regional Focus and Business Restructuring in Parallel. Nomura's development strategy places greater emphasis on regional advantages and business restructuring. After acquiring the relevant assets from Macquarie, Nomura further strengthened its asset management capabilities in the US market. Simultaneously, the company is seeking a new CEO for its Chinese joint venture securities firm and plans to strengthen its sales and trading business in China.

Regarding tokenization, Nomura might adopt a "pilot first" strategy, such as promoting real estate or art tokenization domestically in Japan, or exploring digital securities issuance in Southeast Asian markets through joint venture platforms. Although this regionally focused strategy is less aggressive than BlackRock's, it better aligns with Nomura's resource endowment and risk appetite.

V. Dual Tests of Technology, Regulation, and Market Adaptability

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

• Technology Maturity: Tokenization is still in its early stages. The scalability, interoperability, and security of blockchain networks have not been fully tested by large-scale asset issuance.

• Regulatory Uncertainty: The classification, issuance, and trading rules for tokenized assets are not yet unified across countries. BlackRock needs to advance product innovation within compliant frameworks.

• Market Acceptance: The awareness and understanding of tokenized assets among traditional financial institutions and individual investors still require time to cultivate, especially for the tokenization of non-standardized assets.

Nomura: Regional Risks and Business Transformation Pressure. The challenges Nomura faces are more direct and structural:

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

• Corporate Governance Issues: Disputes including labor disputes with former executives and insufficient product due diligence may affect its brand reputation and strategy execution.

• International Business Risks: Although returning to European and American markets brings opportunities, geopolitical fluctuations and intensified competition still pose potential threats.

VI. Tokenization Future: Different Paths, Same Destination

The path choices of BlackRock and Nomura in the field of tokenization reflect their respective corporate DNA and market positioning. Leveraging its global resources and strategic boldness, BlackRock is committed to building the grand vision of "tokenizing all assets." In contrast, based on regional advantages and business restructuring, Nomura is adopting a more cautious, phased tokenization strategy.

Although the paths differ, both point in the same direction: enhancing financial efficiency and expanding service boundaries through asset tokenization, ultimately promoting the deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy. As technology matures and regulations gradually clarify, 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 references for peers but also outline multiple possibilities for the digital transformation of the entire industry.