It was also disclosed in an SEC filing that BlackRock’s Global Allocation Fund had scooped up another 43,000 shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust by the end of April.
This filing shows that BlackRock has increased its exposure to Bitcoin recently; earlier in May, the firm declared its involvement through its Strategic Global Bond Fund and its Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio.
BlackRock has been preparing investors for Bitcoin ETFs as their way of formally adopting the digital currency space.
BlackRock’s bitcoin ETFs inclusion indicates Market Approval
These share purchases indicate an exponential increase in interest from traditional financial institutions in Bitcoin and Bitcoin ETFs.
After the Bitcoin ETF regime, about 80 % of purchases were made directly by the individual investors who invested the money through online trading platforms.
Large ETF investors like BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley investing in Bitcoin ETFs are considered a large and prominent shift in large financial investors’ acceptance of digital assets.
A spot crypto ETF is priced similarly to the selected cryptocurrency, where the investing portfolio funds are invested in that crypto, which is traded on public stock exchanges and resides in regular brokerage accounts similar to other ETFs.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin Ambitions: Strategic Investment Management
In March, BlackRock laid the groundwork for fully entering Bitcoin by submitting paperwork with the SEC to add Bitcoin ETFs to the BlackRock Global Allocation Fund, which seeks to purchase shares in exchange-traded products (ETPs) as stated in the filing.
BlackRock filed its intention to purchase ETPs, affirming that:
“The Fund may acquire shares in exchange-traded products “ETPs” that seek to reflect generally the performance of the price of bitcoin by directly holding bitcoin “Bitcoin ETPs”, including shares of a Bitcoin ETP sponsored by an affiliate of BlackRock.”
This move underscores BlackRock’s value addition quest in the investment portfolio diversification where Bitcoin ETPs join the Global Allocation Fund.
The fund has an open-end investment strategy with a minimum focus on equity, debt, and short-term securities of corporate and government issuers that are not significantly restricted by regulation, normally at least 70% of its net asset value in normal market circumstances.
It has $17.8 billion of assets as of March 2024 and, to date, returns by 4.61%; the fund will be used to invest globally for long-term growth after identifying the investment opportunities.
