UNI Price Explodes 40% as BlackRock Buys In and Deploys BUIDL on Uniswap

Uniswap's native token $UNI skyrocketed over 40% in a 30-minute surge today, peaking above $4.3 before settling near $3.8, after BlackRock announced its BUIDL tokenized Treasury fund integration on Uniswap and revealed plans to purchase an undisclosed amount of UNI tokens. Trading volume exploded to $3.2B, with open interest spiking 25% as DeFi whales piled in. BlackRock's DeFi Bombshell: BUIDL Goes Live on Uniswap The world's largest asset manager ($14T AUM) partnered with Securitize to enable institutional trading of its $1.8B BUIDL fund – a tokenized U.S. Treasury-backed vehicle – directly on Uniswap via the RFQ framework on UniswapX. Whitelisted investors (>$5M assets) can now swap BUIDL for USDC 24/7 with market makers like Wintermute and Flowdesk, slashing settlement times and unlocking instant liquidity without centralized rails. BlackRock's digital assets head Robert Mitchnick called it a ”critical step” blending TradFi stability with DeFi efficiency. Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams hailed the validation: ”BlackRock's entry proves DeFi's maturity.” UNI Buy Signals Governance Power Play BlackRock's UNI purchase, quantity undisclosed, grants governance rights, letting the giant vote on protocol upgrades impacting BUIDL liquidity. This echoes past UNI catalysts like the ”UNIfication” fee switch proposal, which ignited a 63% rally to $10 in Nov 2025 via $842M token burns and buybacks. UNI's market cap now tops $8.5B, with 956M tokens off exchanges (uptrend intact). Token Analytics RSI hit 85 (overbought but momentum strong), MACD bullish crossover, and OI at $1.2B signal more upside – analysts eye $15 resistance if volume holds. CryptoQuant's Ki Young Ju predicts ”inevitable supply shock” from burns and BlackRock staking. Yet risks linger: restricted access caps immediate flow, and UNI's 93x P/E screams froth amid unlocks. Broader Partnerships Fuel UNI Fire Uniswap's momentum builds on integrations like Circle's USDC conversions and BNB Chain expansion, plus v4 hooks enabling custom liquidity. Opinion: BlackRock's move isn't just hype – it's TradFi's DeFi gateway, potentially funneling billions into UNI liquidity pools. If governance votes align BUIDL growth with fee accrual, $UNI could redefine DEX tokens. Bulls target $20; bears warn of post-pump fade.