Blackrock, the titan of asset management, has once again rewritten the record books, scaling unprecedented heights with a colossal $10.5 trillion in assets under its purview. As if that weren’t staggering enough, the financial juggernaut’s foray into the crypto arena with its Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has been nothing short of meteoric, now boasting an eye-popping stash of nearly 270,000 bitcoins.
In its latest quarterly financial disclosure, Blackrock unveiled a monumental leap in assets, soaring by $1.4 trillion year-on-year, cementing its status as the preeminent force in global asset management.
The Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) remains firmly entrenched as the dominant player in the U.S. spot bitcoin ETF market, with its bitcoin holdings swelling to approximately 269,314 BTC as of April 11, equivalent to a staggering notional value exceeding $18.9 billion.
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Larry Fink, Blackrock’s CEO, lauded IBIT as “the fastest growing ETF in the history of ETFs,” expressing optimism about Bitcoin’s long-term prospects and applauding the robust retail demand propelling Blackrock’s spot bitcoin ETF to stratospheric heights.
In a strategic move underscoring its commitment to the burgeoning crypto space, Blackrock has expanded the roster of authorized participants for IBIT, now counting nine heavyweight players including ABN AMRO Clearing USA, Citadel Securities, and JP Morgan Securities, among others.
But Blackrock’s ambitions don’t stop at Bitcoin. The asset management behemoth has set its sights on the burgeoning ether market, filing an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a spot ether ETF. Despite tentative optimism surrounding potential SEC approval by May, skepticism looms large, with industry insiders questioning the regulator’s stance, particularly amid rumors of a potential ether classification as a security.
However, Fink remains undeterred, confident in Blackrock’s ability to navigate regulatory headwinds, asserting that even in the event of an ether security classification, the launch of a spot ether ETF remains within reach.
Meanwhile, in a parallel development highlighting the intersection of traditional finance and crypto, financial technology firm Circle has unveiled smart contract capabilities aimed at facilitating seamless conversion of shares in the Blackrock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) into USDC stablecoin, further blurring the lines between conventional and digital finance realms.
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