Payments technology firm Talos has integrated its institutional digital asset trading platform with BlackRock’s flagship Aladdin portfolio management system, a move that enables institutional clients to trade cryptoassets directly within their existing workflows. The integration has already seen over $1billion in trading volume realised in its initial week.
This development marks a significant step in the convergence of traditional finance (TradFi) and digital assets, effectively bringing crypto trading capabilities directly onto the same enterprise-grade platform used for traditional investments. The integration allows BlackRock’s traders to route crypto orders to the Talos Order and Execution Management System (OEMS), giving them access to advanced algorithms, smart order routing, and connectivity to a broad range of digital asset liquidity sources.
Meeting Institutional Demand for Enterprise-Grade Crypto
The partnership directly addresses the growing institutional demand for seamless, sophisticated crypto infrastructure. By connecting with Talos, Aladdin users can now access liquidity across centralised exchanges, decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols, and Over-The-Counter (OTC) dealers.
Dan Veiner, head of markets at BlackRock, explained the strategy behind the move. “Digital assets are a growing part of the investment landscape, and we’re building the infrastructure to keep pace with investor interest and demand,” he said, adding that integrating Talos expands and automates the firm’s crypto trading capabilities. “Talos’s crypto-native technology strengthens our execution capabilities now, ensuring we’re ready to meet future client demand with greater efficiency, liquidity access, and execution quality”.
The connection supports sophisticated execution strategies, including algorithmic trading strategies like VWAP (Volume-Weighted Average Price) and TWAP (Time-Weighted Average Price), as well as Request-for-Quote (RFQ) workflows.
Anton Katz, CEO and co-founder of Talos, commented that the partnership is a “direct reflection of the state of institutional adoption of digital assets.” He noted that as large, traditional firms move from exploration to execution, they demand the same level of sophistication they are accustomed to in traditional markets. “Through this integration, BlackRock can now access that standard directly within their existing workflows”.
