BlackRock Takes Its First Step into DeFi This Week, Launching Tokenized Treasury Fund on Uniswap. Meanwhile, Bitcoin and Ethereum See Only Modest Rebound Despite Significant ETF Outflows. Over the past week, both Bitcoin and Ethereum have risen approximately 2.5%, but have failed to break through key psychological price levels due to mixed exchange-traded fund flows and crypto investor sentiment hitting an all-time low. Bitcoin ETFs started the week with two consecutive days of inflows, but the tide quickly turned, with outflows of $276 million on Wednesday and $410 million on Thursday. According to Farside Investors, Ethereum ETFs followed a similar pattern, experiencing two days of modest inflows before outflows of $129 million on Wednesday and $113 million on Thursday. Kaido Research pointed out that one positive signal during this correction was Bitcoin's sharp drop to $59,900, which could mark a key "midway point" in the current bear market. The market is currently at a critical inflection point that will determine the validity of the four-year cycle theory. Despite the decline in crypto valuations, major institutions are still actively exploring crypto adoption, including the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock. The company announced its first foray into the decentralized finance sector on Wednesday (February 12). **BlackRock Ventures into DeFi, Expands Institutional Token Trading via Uniswap** The asset management giant is making its first formal move into decentralized finance by bringing its tokenized US Treasury fund to the Uniswap platform, marking a milestone moment for institutional adoption of DeFi. According to a Wednesday announcement, BlackRock's USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) will be listed on the Uniswap decentralized exchange, allowing institutional investors to buy and sell this tokenized security. As part of the collaboration arrangement, BlackRock will also purchase an undisclosed amount of Uniswap's native governance token, UNI, the announcement said . The collaboration is being facilitated by tokenization company Securitize, which partnered with the world's biggest asset manager on the launch of BUIDL . According to Fortune magazine, the trading function will initially be limited to a select group of eligible institutional investors and market makers before expanding more broadly . "For the first time, institutions and whitelisted investors can leverage technology from a leader in the decentralized finance space to trade tokenized real-world assets like BUIDL with self-custody," said Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo . BUIDL is the largest tokenized money market fund, with total assets exceeding $2.18 billion, according to data compiled by RWA.xyz . The fund is issued on multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Aptos, and Avalanche. In December, BUIDL reached a significant milestone, surpassing $100 million in cumulative distributions from its Treasury holdings . **Trump-Backed WLFI Plans to Launch Foreign Exchange and Remittance Platform** World Liberty Financial, the DeFi platform backed by U.S. President Donald Trump's family, announced on Thursday that it will launch foreign exchange and remittance services for its users . According to a Reuters report, the proposed platform, named World Swap, aims to challenge traditional remittance and foreign exchange service providers with lower fees and a simplified user interface . Based on a Bank for International Settlements report, global daily foreign exchange trading volume exceeded $9.6 trillion in April 2025. Meanwhile, World Bank data shows that the personal remittance market surpassed $892 billion in annual transaction volume in 2024 . No specific launch timeline has been provided. Cointelegraph contacted World Liberty Financial but did not receive a response by press time. The move into forex and remittances follows WLFI's January application for a national trust bank charter and the launch of its lending platform, World Liberty Markets . WLFI's continued growth has also drawn attention from U.S. Democratic lawmakers . **Uniswap Scores Early Legal Victory as US Judge Dismisses Bancor Patent Lawsuit** A federal judge in New York has dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit filed by entities associated with Bancor against Uniswap, ruling that the asserted patents targeted abstract ideas and are not protected under U.S. patent law . In a memorandum opinion and order on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl for the Southern District of New York granted the defendants' motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Bprotocol Foundation and LocalCoin Ltd. against Universal Navigation Inc. and the Uniswap Foundation . The court determined that the patents targeted the abstract concept of calculating cryptocurrency exchange rates, thus failing the two-step patent eligibility test established by the U.S. Supreme Court . The ruling is a procedural victory for Uniswap, but not a final judgment. The case was dismissed "without prejudice," granting the plaintiffs 21 days to file an amended complaint. If they fail to do so, the dismissal will convert to a dismissal "with prejudice" (i.e., with res judicata effect). Shortly after the ruling, Uniswap founder Hayden Adams wrote on X: "Just had a lawyer tell me we won" . A spokesperson for Uniswap Labs told Cointelegraph: "Uniswap Labs has always taken pride in building in public — that's a core DeFi value. We're pleased the court recognized this lawsuit was baseless" . Cointelegraph reached out to representatives of the Bprotocol Foundation for comment but had not received a response by press time . **Binance Completes $1 Billion Bitcoin Conversion to Bolster SAFU Emergency Fund** Binance has completed the conversion of its $1 billion emergency fund into Bitcoin, committing to Bitcoin as its core reserve asset . According to Arkham data, Binance purchased another $304 million worth of Bitcoin on Thursday, completing the injection of $1 billion in Bitcoin into its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) wallet . Binance stated in an X post on Thursday that the fund now holds 15,000 BTC, worth over $1 billion, with an average blended cost of $67,000 per Bitcoin . "With SAFU now fully converted to Bitcoin, we reinforce our conviction in Bitcoin as a primary long-term reserve asset" . The final Bitcoin purchase came three days after Binance completed a previous $300 million acquisition on Monday . The exchange first announced on January 30 its plan to convert its $1 billion user protection fund into Bitcoin, initially committing to complete the acquisition within 30 days, but actually completing it in under two weeks . The exchange stated it would rebalance the fund if market volatility caused its value to drop below $800 million . **Vitalik Draws Line: Distinguishing 'Real DeFi' from Centralized Yield Stablecoins** Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has drawn a clear line for what he considers "genuine" decentralized finance and pushed back against yield-driven stablecoin strategies he believes fail to effectively transform risk profiles . During a discussion on X, Buterin stated that DeFi's value derives from altering the distribution and management of risk, not merely generating yield from centralized assets . Buterin's comments come as mainstream use cases for DeFi, particularly lending markets built around fiat-backed stablecoins like USDC, face renewed scrutiny . While not naming specific protocols, Buterin targeted what he called "USDC yield" products, noting they heavily rely on centralized issuers while not effectively mitigating issuer or counterparty risk .