Key facts:
- BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF reinforces its position as the second largest in the world.
- “We have seen a surge of interest in the bitcoin spot ETF”: BlackRock executive
The bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) owned by the giant investment firm, BlackRock, has significantly increased its holdings in the digital currency.
Precisely, BlackRock reported today that it already owns more than 50,000 bitcoins (BTC), according to data recorded in its first eleven days of trading since it went on the market. This can be seen in the following screenshot from their website, which shows that the specific figure is 52,025 BTC.
In this way, this fund, which is called iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), strengthens itself as the second bitcoin ETF with the most holdings in the currency. It should be noted that this milestone was reached shortly after entering the stock market after surpassing the Canadian fund Purpose Bitcoin (BTCC), as reported by CriptoNoticias.
The only fund that holds more bitcoins than BlackRock is, as seen below, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which operated off-exchange before bitcoin ETFs were authorized in the United States a little over two years ago. weeks.
However, it is worth mentioning that since GBTC became an ETF, it has shed more than 100,000 bitcoins due to the capital outflows it has experienced. This occurred, as CriptoNoticias reported, while the rest of the approved exchange-traded funds registered continuous inflows, especially BlackRock.
BlackRock is distinguished for being the company with the most assets under management in the world , both with regard to the ETF market and financial instruments in general. This is something that may have motivated the entries into IBIT.
The increase in bitcoins from the BlackRock ETF, as well as others, is a bullish signal for the market, since it represents an increase in demand for the digital currency. As long as this continues to grow, it would generate upward pressure on the price of bitcoin.
At the moment, bitcoin is trading at USD 42,000, registering a 10% increase from the 2024 minimum that it reached at USD 38,000 last week, according to data from TradingView.
“We have seen a surge of interest,” BlackRock executive said of the ETF.
Given the performance of IBIT, Rachel Aguirre, head of iShares product at BlackRock in the United States, commented last week that the launch of the bitcoin ETF “has gone incredibly well.” . ” “We’ve really seen a groundswell of interest coming from many directions,” she emphasized.
Aguirre noted that while they welcome regulatory support, that is not a driver of broader adoption of BTC and cryptocurrencies , but rather investor demand. In fact, he indicates that it is the latter that led to ETFs finally being approved in the United States.
“Bitcoin is a new emerging asset class and exhibits very unique risk and return characteristics. So it is a journey that investors are on right now to understand the usefulness of this new asset class in the context of a portfolio.”Rachel Aguirre, director of BlackRock.
In turn, BlackRock management indicated that its ether ETF proposal, the Ethereum currency, is its next step in innovation. Currently, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is evaluating whether to approve these types of products.
