World’s Largest Asset Manager BlackRock Has Launched a Spot Bitcoin Private Trust

The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, has taken another major step into digital assets, launching a spot Bitcoin private trust for its institutional clients in the United States. 

BlackRock Launches Bitcoin Private Trust

In a Thursday blog post, BlackRock, which recently announced a partnership with leading cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, revealed it has launched a new spot Bitcoin private trust.

BlackRock, with over $10 trillion in assets under management, has said it is seeing increased interest from some institutional clients “despite the steep downturn in the digital asset market.”

The asset manager explained that “Bitcoin is the oldest, largest, and most liquid cryptoasset and is currently the primary subject of interest from our clients within the cryptoasset space.” 

Blackrock Launches Bitcoin Private Trust

The “Blackrock Bitcoin Private Trust” will track the performance of Bitcoin, giving institutional investors in the U.S. their first direct exposure to the asset. 

According to Blackrock, the fund explores “how to efficiently and cost-effectively access these assets using our technology and product capabilities.”

In addition, the asset manager said that it is working on how permissioned blockchains, stablecoins, crypto assets, and tokenization can broadly benefit its clients and capital markets.

On the Flipside

• As rife inflation and recession ate through financial markets in the first half of the year, BlackRock reported that it had lost $1.7 trillion.

Why You Should Care

The launch of the BlackRock spot bitcoin fund puts the asset manager at odds with GrayScale, which first applied for a spot Bitcoin ETF in early 2017 but has been denied by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The BlackRock and Coinbase partnership is covered below:

Coinbase Partners with BlackRock to Provide Institutional Clients with Crypto Access

For more on the Grayscale vs. the SEC, read:

Grayscale Launches Legal Battle Against SEC for Rejecting Spot Bitcoin ETF