BlackRock Enhances Bitcoin ETF with Addition of Five Wall Street Firms
Mitchell Nixon
BlackRock, a global asset manager, revised its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) prospectus on April 5, introducing five prominent Wall Street firms as additional authorised participants.
The newcomers, namely ABN AMRO Clearing, Citadel Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs, and UBS Securities, were disclosed in the updated document filed by BlackRock’s S-1 registration statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Previously authorised participants in the ETF include JPMorgan Securities, Jane Street Capital, Macquarie Capital, and Virtu Americas.
Authorised participants are integral to the BTC ETF’s operational framework, facilitating the creation and redemption of ETF shares. This process involves exchanging ETF shares for a corresponding basket of securities reflecting the ETF’s holdings or converting them into cash.
According to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, the inclusion of these new firms signals their interest in the Bitcoin market and willingness to publicly associate with it.
The SEC’s stance regarding the cash creation and redemption process for Bitcoin ETFs primarily aims to reduce the potential risks of market manipulation linked with transactions. Under this cash mechanism, the creation or redemption of new shares in a Bitcoin ETF occurs solely through cash transactions, departing from the conventional in-kind model where market participants directly manage the underlying assets.
This strategy was devised to deter intraday price manipulation, as per the initial proposals put forth by asset managers like Hashdex. In line with the SEC’s recommendations, other major asset managers, including industry giants such as BlackRock, ARK Invest, and Grayscale, have integrated this mechanism into their filings.
Bitcoin ETFs experienced a surge in trading volume in March, reaching $111 billion, although some analyses indicate a cooling demand for the product. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) continues to lead in trading volume and assets under management, followed by Grayscale and Fidelity’s funds. According to data from BitMEX Research, BlackRock’s IBIT assets reached $17.6 billion as of April 1.