BlackRock Becomes the Latest Giant to be interested in Bitcoin With Two Funds

By: Mark Jessy

January 21, 2021 9:37 AM

The worlds largest asset manager BlackRock Inc, with over $8.7T in asset under management has granted at least two funds access to invest in bitcoin, offering it's client's exposure to cryptocurrency.

BlackRock filed prospectus document with the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday which indicates that two of it's funds in BlackRock Global Allocation Fund Inc. and BlackRock Funds V are at least eyeing bitcoin futures, with both adding Bitcoin to their products. Derivatives using cash settlement do not require delivery of the underlying asset.

This recent fillings captioned BlackRock entrance into the bitcoin market, Blackrock which oversees $8.7 trillion, is signaling a new willingness to test the waters of Bitcoin.

Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said in a 2018 interview that the firm’s clients weren’t interested in owning crypto. But more recently, executives have shown an increased openness to the asset, which is sometimes compared to digital gold.

A BlackRock spokesperson declined to comment beyond the filings.

Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s chief investment officer for global fixed income, said in a Bloomberg Television interview last year that there’s a clear demand for Bitcoin and that “it’s going to be part of the asset suite for investors for a long time.”

The move demonstrates that the asset class is gaining respectability, said Nic Carter, general partner at Castle Island Ventures.

“It’s certainly more evidence for the institutionalization thesis that’s really been the theme of this bull market,” he said.

Bitcoin, which recently surged in the final stretch of 2020, was trading for about $34,858 according to Trading View data.