BlackRock, one of the largest asset managers in the world, is planning to buy spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for its Global Allocation Fund (MALOX).
According to a March 7 update to the filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, BlackRock wants to include physically backed Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs), or in other words, spot Bitcoin ETFs, as part of MALOX.
The updated filing notes that MALOX may purchase BlackRock’s own spot Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), as well as ETFs by other issuers, stating:
“The fund may acquire shares in ETPs that seek to reflect generally the performance of the price of Bitcoin by directly holding bitcoin — ‘Bitcoin ETPs’ — including shares of a Bitcoin ETP sponsored by an affiliate of BlackRock.”
The fund will only invest in Bitcoin ETPs that are listed and traded on national securities exchanges, the filing noted.
Launched in 1989, the BlackRock Global Allocation Fund seeks to provide investment return through a fully managed investment policy utilizing U.S. and foreign equity, debt and money market securities, including companies like Microsoft, Apple and others. As of March 7, MALOX had $17.8 billion in assets under management.
MALOX is not the only BlackRock fund that the company wants to hold spot Bitcoin ETFs. The updated SEC filing comes just a few days after BlackRock submitted a similar filing update for its Strategic Income Opportunities Fund (BSIIX) on March 4.
BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust, debuted trading on Jan. 11, alongside nine other spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States.
Related: SEC pushes back BlackRock, Fidelity spot Ethereum ETF proposals
IBIT has emerged as the fastest-growing spot Bitcoin ETF, multiplying its BTC holdings by more than 7,000%, from 2,621 BTC on Jan. 11 to 187,531 BTC as of March 7, 2024. At the time of writing, IBIT’s Bitcoin holdings are worth $12.6 billion.
In addition to the spot Bitcoin ETF, BlackRock has been actively pushing for a spot Ether (ETH) ETF with U.S. regulators. In November 2023, BlackRock filed a Form S-1 application for its iShares Ethereum Trust with Delaware’s Division of Corporations.
Industry analysts and observers have been arguing whether U.S. financial watchdogs would approve the launch of a spot ETH ETF in 2024. For Bitcoin, it took more than 10 years for the SEC to back a spot ETF in the United States.
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