BlackRock is undoubtedly the biggest player to enter the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem. This was very evident when its announcement for spot Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) filing immediately set the wheels in motion for another bull run in the cryptocurrency space. So, how much of its BTC haul has the world’s largest asset management firm allotted for these hottest new financial instruments on Wall Street today?
BlackRock Pours Nearly $500 Million Worth of BTC in Spot Bitcoin ETF
Just two days following the historic announcement of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last Wednesday, BlackRock has already accumulated 11,439 BTC worth over $497 million for its spot Bitcoin ETF. This contributed to the overall $7.6 billion trading volume experienced by these new financial instruments last week.
The influx of spot Bitcoin ETF transactions was apparently undeterred by the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) made by Vanguard when it blocked the trading of these assets in its platform. Prior to that, it made a sweeping statement about having no interest in offering any other crypto-related products.
To add insult to injury, a spokesperson of the $7.7 trillion asset management called them “weak” as investment mediums. The mouthpiece of Vanguard also claimed they “lack intrinsic economic value.”
“Vanguard believes that the investment case for cryptocurrencies is weak,” said the company representative to Blockworks. “Unlike stocks and bonds, most crypto assets lack intrinsic economic value and generate no cash flows.”
“And cryptocurrencies’ high volatility runs counter to our goal of helping investors generate positive real returns over the long term,” the spokesperson added.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, however, has continued to fuel the hype train for spot Bitcoin ETFs in recent interviews. In a stark contrast to his earlier comment against BTC, referring to it as “an index of money laundering,” the company’s head honcho is now telling people, “It’s like digital gold.”
“If you’re fearful of your government, or worrying your government is devaluing the currency, then you could see this as a great potential long-term store of value,” Fink commented via an interview with Fox Business.
Final Thoughts
It remains to be seen how spot Bitcoin ETFs, especially the one from BlackRock, will continue to perform as there is apparently a “sell the news” event going on in the market in the aftermath of their approval by the SEC.
As of this trading hour, Bitcoin remains unmoving in the $42,700 territory in the 24-hour chart of CoinMarketCap. Trading volume, however, shows a 20% surge as $20.044 billion BTC moved between wallet addresses within the same frame. During that time, the digital asset hovered between a low of $41,705 and a high of $43,065.