BlackRock, the world’s largest investment fund with nearly $10 trillion in assets under management, plans to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) called IShares Blockchain and Tech in the coming months.
As far as is known so far, BlackRock will integrate the new cryptocurrency trading features and services through Aladdin, the company’s comprehensive investment management and trading platform. The launch of an exchange-traded fund (ETF), called the iShares Blockchain and Tech ETF, is also among the company’s recently revealed plans. The new fund will track an index with companies related to the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain from the US and abroad.
Although BlackRock has not commented on the matter, the company has shown its interest in the crypto world since 2020 and it has a team of at least 20 people currently working on its strategies for cryptocurrency adoption and integration.
In recent months, the firm has been making significant investments in crypto asset-related projects and companies. In June last year, BlackRock reported a US$383 million equity investment in two of the largest Bitcoin mining companies in the US, Marathon Digital Holdings and Riot Blockchain, to increase its stake in these companies by 6% and 6.61%, respectively, according to BlackRock’s earnings filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The firm currently owns a 16.3% stake in MicroStrategy, the business intelligence company run by Michael Saylor, one of the world’s biggest Bitcoin advocates. MicroStrategy is the largest institutional investor in Bitcoin, with more than 125,051 BTC on its balance sheets, valued at about $5.509 billion at the time of this edition.
BlackRock has changed its perception of cryptocurrencies in recent years. According to sources, the investment management firm wants to follow in the footsteps of companies such as MicroStrategy, Block (formerly Square) and Tesla, which have large investments in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
