Bitcoin Rebounds to $68,400 as BlackRock Adds to ETF Holdings

Bitcoin has surged to $68,400 at present, after dipping to a low of $67,200 in the past 24 hours. BlackRock’s bond and income-focused funds acquired shares of their asset manager’s spot Bitcoin ETF in the first quarter, according to legal filings.

Documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dated May 28 reveal that BlackRock’s Strategic Income Opportunities Fund (BSIIX) purchased $3.56 million worth of iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) shares, while their Global Allocation Fund (MAWIX) made a $485,000 purchase.

IBIT shares are now part of the portfolios of BSIIX and MAWIX, which have total assets of $37.4 billion and $776.4 million, respectively. As of May 24, IBIT holds Bitcoin worth $19.61 billion, according to BlackRock’s data.

The BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities Fund’s purchase of 88,000 IBIT shares. Source: SEC

Grayscale’s data indicates that IBIT slightly trails the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which held $19.76 billion as of May 28. Globally, spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively possess over 1 million Bitcoin valued at more than $68 billion, representing nearly 5.10% of the total circulating supply of over 19.7 million BTC, as per CoinGecko.

Recent SEC filings disclose that more than 600 U.S. investment firms have purchased spot Bitcoin ETFs since their introduction in January. Prominent buyers include Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, the Royal Bank of Canada, BNP Paribas, UBS, and hedge funds like Millennium Management and Schonfeld Strategic Advisors.

Millennium Management stands out as the largest accumulator of spot Bitcoin ETFs, with $1.9 billion in investments, including $844.2 million in IBIT and $806.7 million in the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust (FBTC).

On May 23, BlackRock was among eight companies with spot Ether holdings. The ETF bids have received approval in the U.S., but the SEC must endorse the companies’ Form S-1 filings before the products can begin trading.