BlackRock’s Global Allocation Fund has increased its position in the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by 117%, totaling $17,1 billion as of October 31, according to a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
As of December 24, the ETF’s holdings have exceeded $53 billion worth of Bitcoin.
The fund disclosed holding approximately 430,770 IBIT shares, a major increase from the 198,874 shares reported at the end of July. Its initial SEC filing listed only 43,000 shares.
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Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s chief investment officer of global fixed income, manages the fund. He also oversees the BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities and BlackRock Strategic Global Bond funds. As of their latest filings, these funds hold a combined $78 billion in IBIT shares.
BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities reported holding 2.1 million IBIT shares worth around $77 billion as of September 30, while BlackRock Strategic Global Bond revealed owning 40,682, valued at approximately $1.4 million.
BlackRock has diversified its investments, including Bitcoin exposure through the IBIT trust within some of its existing investment funds. As of December 24, IBIT accumulated over $53 billion in Bitcoin and remains the world’s largest Bitcoin fund.
The ETF has been a major force behind the success of US spot Bitcoin ETFs. In under a year, these funds have accumulated more Bitcoin than even Satoshi Nakamoto is estimated to hold.
Nate Geraci, head of The ETF Store, points out that IBIT has shot up the ranks to become one of the 35 biggest ETFs by assets, out of over 3,900, and it did it in under a year.
Farside Investors’ data shows IBIT pulling in over $37 billion since launch, leaving other ETFs in the dust. To put that in perspective, Fidelity’s FBTC, the next biggest by inflows, only managed $11.8 billion—less than a third of what IBIT brought in. Essentially, IBIT’s the main reason US spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen that huge $35.4 billion influx of cash.
IBIT experienced its largest single-day withdrawal since launch on December 24, with net outflows of $188.7 million. The negative flows came amid a downturn in the cryptocurrency market that pushed Bitcoin below $100,000.
The cryptocurrency surged past $99,000 on Christmas but quickly retreated as the Santa rally faded. Bitcoin is currently trading at $95,664, down 3.3% in the last 24 hours, per CoinGecko data.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin Ad Sparks Controversy
Since launching its flagship Bitcoin investment product, BlackRock has ramped up efforts to establish its ETF as a benchmark in the cryptocurrency sector. These efforts have also helped position Bitcoin as a legitimate and mainstream investment option.
However, not all is embraced. The Wall Street titan recently rolled out an advertisement for the IBIT fund, and cryptocurrency community members hated it.
The ad, available on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF page, features a three-minute video that outlines the evolution of money and Bitcoin’s key principles, particularly its fixed supply of 21 million coins. However, it includes a critical disclaimer stating, “There is no guarantee Bitcoin’s 21 million supply cap will not be changed.”
The disclaimer has sparked controversy, even outrage, among Bitcoin enthusiasts who consider the statement a direct challenge to one of Bitcoin’s core tenets. Critics argue that such statements could undermine confidence in Bitcoin’s scarcity and potentially influence future developments in the cryptocurrency’s protocol.
There are also concerns surrounding BlackRock’s massive BTC holdings, which some fear could give the firm undue influence over Bitcoin’s governance and supply dynamics.
However, some industry figures suggest that the disclaimer was included simply for legal purposes and not in order to alter Bitcoin’s supply.
The disclaimer is standard practice among financial institutions when selling investment products, according to Blockstream CEO Adam Back.
Back noted that any changes to Bitcoin’s code would require consensus from the community rather than unilateral action by BlackRock.
