Blackrock Bitcoin Approaches 350,000, Only Traces Satoshi, Binance

BlackRock's aggressive push into bitcoin brought its holdings to 350,000 BTC, making it the third-largest holder globally behind Satoshi Nakamoto and Binance, according to on-chain data.

This large stock comes as BlackRock continues to establish itself as a major player in the cryptocurrency space, led by a variety of ETF products and growing demand from institutional investors.

BlackRock now owns about 350,000 bitcoins.

BlackRock's foray into Bitcoin is a big change for the industry. Historically, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has been a vocal skeptic of Bitcoin, dismissing it as a speculative and potentially risky asset.

However, his position has undergone a radical change over the years. Fink now sees Bitcoin as a “global asset” with financial transformative potential. This change of heart is the catalyst for BlackRock's deeper involvement in the cryptocurrency market.

The company's flagship product, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is an integral part of this strategy. Launched earlier this year, IBIT has quickly gained traction among institutional investors seeking safe exposure to Bitcoin. As a result, Black Rock's holdings are close to 350,000 BTC. For perspective, this amount surpasses Satoshi Nakamoto's estimated 1.1 million BTC stash and Binance's holdings, which are around 550,000 BTC.

“US ETFs didn't realize they were on track to overtake Satoshi in Bitcoin in October. BlackRock alone is already #3 and is on pace to become #1 by the end of next year, and will likely stay there for a long time, said Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

Read more: Who will have the most Bitcoins in 2024?

Interestingly, the balance of power in the ETF market was very different a few months ago. Grayscale was leading the show, holding more bitcoins than BlackRock.

However, the situation has now changed, with Grayscale struggling with customer redemptions as investors pull out. The primary reason behind this migration is Greyscale's steep 2.5% fees, compared to the industry average of 0.25%.

BlackRock's rise in the crypto space has opened the door for traditional financial players to enter the market. Recent filings show that major institutions such as Capula Management, Goldman Sachs, DRW Capital and several investment and pension boards have been acquiring shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust.

Read more: How to trade Bitcoin ETF: A step-by-step approach

While ETFs have undeniably played a key role in establishing cryptocurrencies as a legitimate asset class, opinions in the crypto community are divided. Many argue that large financial institutions are increasingly contradicting the principles on which Bitcoin was founded. For these critics, the institutional control in the crypto space erodes this original ethos, shifting its power to the entities it purports to pass on to Bitcoin.

“Doesn't this defeat the whole purpose of “decentralization”? Blackrock will be the biggest holler, it doesn't get more centralized than that,” said one X user.