Topic: [2024-04-12] $10.5 Trillion Asset Manager Blackrock's Spot Bitcoin ETF ... (Read 126 times)

$10.5 Trillion Asset Manager Blackrock's Spot Bitcoin ETF Now Holds 270K BTC

Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, shattered its record for assets under management (AUM), reaching a staggering $10.5 trillion. This financial behemoth also continues to dominate the U.S. spot bitcoin ETF market with its Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which has amassed nearly 270K bitcoins.

IBIT Has Amassed Nearly 270K Bitcoins

Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, released its financial results on Friday for the first quarter ended March 31, showing a record $10.5 trillion in assets under management (AUM), an increase of $1.4 trillion from the previous year.

The asset manager’s spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), has maintained a dominant position in the U.S. spot bitcoin ETF market. As of April 11, IBIT’s bitcoin holdings stood at approximately 269,314 BTC, with a notional value of over $18.9 billion.

Larry Fink, CEO of Blackrock, recently said that IBIT is “the fastest growing ETF in the history of ETFs.” He added that he is “very bullish on the long-term viability of Bitcoin” and is “pleasantly surprised” by the retail demand for Blackrock’s spot bitcoin ETF.

Last week, Blackrock filed an amendment to its IBIT prospectus, revealing that the fund now has nine authorized participants. They are ABN AMRO Clearing USA, Citadel Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs, Jane Street Capital, JP Morgan Securities, Macquarie Capital (USA), UBS Securities, and Virtu Americas.

Blackrock has also filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a spot ether ETF. Despite some optimism surrounding potential SEC approval of spot ether ETF applications by May’s deadline, skepticism is growing. Jan Van Eck, CEO of investment firm Vaneck, recently expressed his doubts, anticipating the rejection of his firm’s application in May.

Moreover, there are reports that the SEC may be trying to classify ether as a security. Fink, however, believes that even if ETH is classified as a security, Blackrock can still launch a spot ether ETF.

On Thursday, financial technology firm and stablecoin provider Circle introduced smart contract capabilities aimed at enabling holders of the Blackrock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) to exchange their shares for USDC through Circle.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/10-5-trillion-asset-manager-blackrocks-spot-bitcoin-etf-now-holds-270k-btc/