BlackRock adds its own Bitcoin ETF to income and bond funds
BlackRock's income and bond-focused funds bought shares in the asset manager's own space bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the first quarter, regulatory filings show.
BlackRock's Strategic Income Opportunities Fund (BSIIX) bought $3.56 million worth of iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and $485,000 worth of Strategic Global Bond Fund (MAWIX), according to a May 28 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
IBIT shares are a fraction of the BSIIX and MAWIX investment portfolios, valued at $37.4 billion and $776.4 million, respectively.
IBIT currently holds $19.61 billion worth of bitcoins, according to BlackRock as of May 24, 2010.
As of May 28, only the Greyscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) holds $19.76 billion, according to Grayscale data.
The Spot Bitcoin ETF globally now holds more than $68 billion worth of bitcoins worth more than $1 million — equivalent to 5.10% of the more than 19.7 million BTC in circulation, according to CoinGecko.
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More than 600 U.S. investment firms have bought bitcoin ETFs since their launch in January, recent SEC filings reveal.
Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Royal Bank of Canada, BNP Paribas, UBS and Millennium Management and Schoenfeld Strategic Advisors were some of the funds buying Bitcoin funds in January.
Millennium is the largest Bitcoin ETF accumulator, with $1.9 billion invested, including $844.2 million to IBIT and $806.7 million to Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC).
On May 23, BlackRock was one of eight firms approved in the U.S. to offer a spot Ether (ETH) ETF, but the SEC must approve the company's Form S-1 for its products to begin trading.
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