BlackRock ETF Buys First Muni Bonds Issued Through Blockchain

  • Firm is buying debt sold by Quincy, Massachusetts, in April
  • Debt was brought to market through JPMorgan’s digital platform
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A BlackRock Inc. fund has bought municipal debt issued earlier this year in a first-of-its-kind dealBloomberg Terminal that relies exclusively on blockchain technology.

BlackRock purchased the bonds through an actively-managed exchange-traded fund called the iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond Active ETF or MEAR, according to a spokesperson for the firm. The fund was founded in 2015 and has roughly $750 million in client assets.