Recently, I noticed a pretty interesting phenomenon—BlackRock's tokenized fund BUIDL is quietly rewriting the rules of DeFi.

Speaking of BUIDL, it's not a new thing, but recently its popularity has surged again, mainly due to the collaboration between Curve and Elixir. These two have introduced BUIDL into the DeFi ecosystem. What seems like a simple partnership actually reflects a bigger trend—traditional finance is actively embracing decentralized finance through tangible actions.

First, let's talk about what BUIDL is. Essentially, it's an investment fund packaged with blockchain technology by BlackRock, focusing on low-risk assets like U.S. Treasuries and repurchase agreements. Each BUIDL token is pegged to $1, with an annual yield of around 4.5%, and management fees between 0.2% and 0.5%. What's most attractive is that it breaks the cumbersome subscription and redemption processes of traditional funds—BUIDL supports daily redemptions, T+0 settlement, and 24/7 trading, which are impossible in traditional finance.

Even more interesting is how ONDO is playing this. ONDO Finance launched a money market fund called OUSG, which requires efficient liquidity management. They directly hold a large amount of BUIDL as the underlying asset. According to data, out of the $160 million worth of BUIDL on the Ethereum mainnet, ONDO accounts for the vast majority. This approach is very DeFi—through ONDO, BUIDL that originally required a minimum investment of $5 million is now packaged into a product that can be participated in with just $5,000, lowering the barrier by 1,000 times. Since ONDO started holding BUIDL, its price has surged over 200%, making it the first project to benefit from this wave.

Now, it's Curve's turn. Elixir recently launched the "RWA Institutional Plan," allowing BUIDL holders to mint deUSD (a synthetic dollar backed by stETH and U.S. Treasuries). Elixir chose Curve as the main liquidity hub, which means Curve will become a key bridge between traditional financial assets and DeFi.

How big is this opportunity for Curve? First, it further consolidates its position in the stablecoin liquidity market. As more institutional assets like BUIDL enter the ecosystem, Curve's trading volume and fee income will create a positive feedback loop. Second, the influx of institutional capital will significantly enhance DeFi's stability and maturity, attracting more traditional financial institutions to participate.

A detail worth noting—CRV's price increased by 90% within five days after the related news was announced, but its current market cap is only about $350 million, still far behind ONDO's $2.5 billion. This indicates that the market's valuation of Curve in this RWA wave is still far from fully realized.

Ultimately, BUIDL represents a larger shift: traditional finance is using tokenization and blockchain tools to optimize its asset management efficiency. DeFi is no longer just a playground for crypto natives but has become a new platform for institutional capital seeking efficiency and returns. In this process, infrastructure projects like Curve are playing an increasingly important role.

For investors, this wave of integration between traditional finance and DeFi has just begun, with opportunities and risks intertwined. The key is to understand the actual value of these projects within the new ecosystem, rather than blindly following the trend.