BLACKROCK, the world’s largest asset manager, is preparing to list an exchange-traded product (ETP) tied directly to Bitcoin in Europe, following on from the success of its US$58 billion US exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking the cryptocurrency.
The fund will likely be domiciled in Switzerland, according to sources familiar with the plans who were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. BlackRock could start marketing the fund as soon as this month, one source said.
A spokesperson for BlackRock declined to comment.
BlackRock is a leader in ETF issuance, managing more than US$4.4 trillion in assets across such products. While ETPs linked to cryptocurrencies have traded on European bourses for years, the new fund would be BlackRock’s first crypto-linked ETP outside of North America.
The firm has been one of Wall Street’s most prominent supporters of the digital asset class in recent years. At the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, BlackRock chief executive officer Larry Fink touted the benefits of Bitcoin as a hedge against the debasement of other currencies.
The debut of several US ETFs tied directly to Bitcoin a year ago saw demand for the asset class soar, bringing in US$116 billion to date across 12 funds, Bloomberg data show. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust is the largest of the group, smashing industry records with the best-performing debut of any ETF in history.
Crypto prices have undergone a bumper rally since the re-election of US President Donald Trump, with Bitcoin hitting a record high of US$109,241 in January. More financial institutions are expected to enter the space thanks to Trump’s outspoken support of the industry and the promise of new regulations, which would provide clearer guidelines for firms. In the European Union, new rules for crypto went live in late December.
The European market for cryptocurrency ETPs is hotly contested, with more than 160 products available tracking the price of Bitcoin, Ether and other tokens. However, its US$17.3 billion size pales in comparison to that of the US.
“Being able to gain Bitcoin exposure via the ETP wrapper has proven to be a compelling combination for investors,” Samara Cohen and Jay Jacobs, BlackRock’s chief investment officer of ETFs and index investments and US head of thematic and active ETFs respectively, wrote in a blog post last month. BLOOMBERG
