BlackRock introduces proprietary Bitcoin ETF to its range of income and bond funds

BlackRock’s income and bond-focused funds have purchased shares of the asset manager’s own Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the first quarter, according to regulatory filings. The Strategic Income Opportunities Fund bought $3.56 million worth of the iShares Bitcoin Trust, while the Strategic Global Bond Fund made a $485,000 purchase. These investments are a small portion of the funds’ overall portfolios, which are valued at $37.4 billion and $776.4 million, respectively. The iShares Bitcoin Trust currently holds $19.61 billion worth of Bitcoin, second only to the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which holds $19.76 billion. Globally, spot Bitcoin ETFs hold over 1 million Bitcoin, worth over $68 billion, accounting for nearly 5.10% of the circulating supply. More than 600 US investment firms have invested in spot Bitcoin ETFs since January, with firms like Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Royal Bank of Canada among them. Millennium Management is the largest accumulator of spot Bitcoin ETFs, with $1.9 billion invested. On May 23, BlackRock’s Ether ETF bid was approved in the US, but the SEC still needs to approve the firm’s Form S-1 filings for the products to begin trading.