BlackRock’s Bitcoin exposure soars 38%
TL;DR Breakdown
- BlackRock boosted its IBIT stake by 38% in Q2, holding 1M shares worth $66.4M as of July 31.
- IBIT marks a 403% YoY jump, making IBIT 0.4% of the $17.1B Global Allocation Fund.
- BlackRock is preparing a Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, selling covered calls for yield.
BlackRock is deepening its exposure to Bitcoin as the crypto market bags Wall Street’s confidence. The asset manager’s Global Allocation Fund reportedly boosted its holdings in the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by 38% in the second quarter.
This surge comes in the period where Bitcoin posted its fresh all-time high (ATH) of above $124k. However, the recent sell-off has led the biggest crypto to dip below $110K. BTC is still trading up by 2% over the last 90 days.
BlackRock Lifts Bitcoin Bet
According to BlackRock’s Sept. 26 SEC filing, the diversified fund held 1,000,808 IBIT shares (worth approx $66.4 million) as of July 31. It is up from 723,000 shares held at the end of April. The increase reverses earlier reductions and marks a 403% jump year-over-year from July 2024 levels. The fund’s stake was under 200,000 shares at that time.
IBIT now accounts for 0.4% of the fund’s $17.1 billion assets. It is up from just 0.1% last October but below the 1% to 2% range BlackRock has previously described as a “reasonable” portfolio weighting. This shows a cautious but step-by-step accumulation.
Bitcoin is dealing with heavy selling pressure as investors bagged the “Sell at the top” opportunity. BTC price dropped by more than 7% over the last 60 days, while Ethereum managed to gain by 7%. Bitcoin is trading at an average price of $109,395 at the press time. Its The 24-hour trading volume dropped by 26% to stand at $54 billion.
BlackRock Eyes BTC Yield
BlackRock is not holding back. It is laying the groundwork for a new product, a Bitcoin Premium Income ETF. The firm registered a Delaware trust for the yield-focused fund on Thursday. This signals plans to go beyond its $87 billion flagship IBIT. The proposed ETF would sell covered calls on Bitcoin futures to generate income. It will be trading away some upside in exchange for regular distributions.
ETF analyst Eric Balchunas dubbed it a “sequel to IBIT.” He said that it would fill a key gap for institutions that want exposure to Bitcoin but also a steady yield. Meanwhile, its timing seems quite apt as Bitcoin ETF flows remain turbulent.
Bitcoin ETFs saw $258 million in outflows on Sept. 25. It wiped away the previous day’s rebound. Fidelity’s FBTC led the losses with $115 million in outflows, while Ark’s ARKB and Grayscale’s GBTC also bled assets. BlackRock’s IBIT was the exception as it pulled in nearly $80 million in fresh money. This reinforces its dominant position with $84.3 billion in assets and more than $60.8 billion in cumulative inflows since launch.
