After announcing it would enable bitcoin trading services, $10 trillion BlackRock now offers spot bitcoin exposure to institutions in a private trust.
“Bitcoin is the oldest, largest, and most liquid cryptoasset, and is currently the primary subject of interest from our clients within the cryptoasset space,” per the statement.
In the same vein, BlackRock’s institutional bitcoin trust will not support the custodial transfer of bitcoin. However the value of the trust will be derived from bitcoin’s spot price and the asset manager will likely once again leverage a custodial partner.
Moreover, the launch of a spot bitcoin trust for institutions marks a stark reversal from statements made last year by Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock.
Nevertheless, institutional investors have decidedly made a correction as BlackRock stated in its Bitcoin trust announcement:
“Despite the steep downturn in the digital asset market, we are still seeing substantial interest from some institutional clients in how to efficiently and cost-effectively access these assets using our technology and product capabilities,” reads the release.