Global investment giant BlackRock filed a prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday outlining the firm's plans to add new bitcoin exchange-traded funds to its strategic portfolio. Dubbed the Strategic Income Opportunities Fund, BlackRock includes investments in Bitcoin among its other offerings, highlighting the risks of each.
“The Fund may directly hold Bitcoin (Bitcoin ETPs) and acquire shares in exchange-traded products (ETPs) that seek to reflect the price performance of Bitcoin in general, including Bitcoin ETP shares sponsored by a BlackRock affiliate,” the company wrote.
In January, the SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs, allowing all qualified applicants to trade on US exchanges. The new investment product line has become very popular.
BlackRock stated that the strategic fund will invest in Bitcoin ETPs that are “listed and traded on national securities exchanges.”
BlackRock notes that the fund and any Bitcoin ETPs it invests in will charge expenses such as management and advisory fees, but the firm chooses to waive some of those fees.
The firm warned investors about the risks involved in investing, including losing all their money in the investment.
“Risk is inherent in all investments. The value of your investment in an Ffnd, as well as the amount of income you receive on your investment, can fluctuate significantly from day to day and from time to time,” BlackRock said in the filing. “You may lose all or part of your investment in the Fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments.”
BlackRock has included some caveats to investing in the cryptocurrency market, including the lack of transparency that can lead to problems in verifying assets, the risk of fraud and swindling – including Ponzi schemes – and the use of digital assets for illegal activities.
“Such events can have a negative impact on Bitcoin's value and investment appeal,” he said.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
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