Key Points
- Two BlackRock-managed funds have invested in the firm’s spot bitcoin ETF, IBIT, in Q1 2024.
- The IBIT ETF has attracted more fresh capital than any other spot bitcoin ETF since its launch.
Two funds overseen by BlackRock have incorporated the company’s IBIT spot Bitcoin ETF into their portfolios.
The information was disclosed in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Investment Details
The BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities and BlackRock Strategic Global Bond funds have reported purchasing shares in the spot bitcoin ETF, which was launched by the company in January.
The BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities fund bought nearly $3.6 million worth of IBIT shares, while the BlackRock Strategic Global Bond fund invested $486,000 in IBIT shares in Q1 2024.
The IBIT exchange-traded fund has attracted more fresh capital than any other spot bitcoin ETF since its inception.
Although Grayscale’s spot bitcoin ETF has more assets under management than any of its competitors, this is due to the conversion of its flagship GBTC fund, which had nearly $30 billion in AUM at its launch.
Management and Institutional Interest
Rick Rieder, the CIO of global fixed income at BlackRock, manages both funds that bought shares in the IBIT spot bitcoin ETF.
The first quarter of 2024 saw hundreds of traditional financial firms invest in spot bitcoin ETFs.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas described it as “mind boggling” that over 400 institutions reported purchasing the newly launched IBIT spot bitcoin ETF.
