On Thursday, according to a new blog post, blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, with over $10 trillion in total assets under managementlaunched a new private Bitcoin (BTC) “spot” fund. The fund is only available to US institutional investors. and seeks to track the performance of Bitcoin, less expenses and fund obligations. Explaining such a decision, BlackRock stated:
“Despite the sharp decline in the digital asset market, we continue to see considerable interest from some institutional clients in how to efficiently and profitably access these assets using our technology and product features. Bitcoin is the most popular digital asset older, larger, more liquid and is currently the main focus of our clients in the digital asset space.”
Private investment funds that do not solicit retail investors do not need to register with US regulatory authorities. But others, like the Grayscale Bitcoin Investment Trust, can be publicly traded (although they are not registered with the SEC) on the unofficial or over-the-counter (OTC) markets.
Excluding stablecoins, Bitcoin holds close to 50% of the sector’s market capitalization. When it comes to blockchain energy use, BlackRock says it is encouraged by organizations such as RMI and Energy Web, which are developing programs to bring greater transparency to the use of sustainable energy in Bitcoin mining.
In the past week, BlackRock has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to offer its customers a direct cryptocurrency offering, starting with Bitcoin.. Users of BlackRock’s institutional investment management platform Aladdin will receive cryptocurrency trading tools, custody, preferred brokerage, and reporting when they sign up for Coinbase Prime. On a broader level, BlackRock says that it has been investigating four areas in the digital assets sector — private blockchains, stablecoins, crypto assets and tokenization — in addition to their associated ecosystems.
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