BlackRock Buys $2.4 Billion in Bitcoin This Week, Paves Way for Institutional Adoption

The World’s largest asset manager, BlackRock has reportedly bought around $2.4 billion worth of Bitcoins this week in preparation for the launch of its Bitcoin ETF offering. This massive purchase and another $300 million worth of Bitcoins gathered over just two days are some signs that BlackRock believes in the digital asset now. It has been changing the tide as institutional interest in cryptocurrencies is increasingly growing. 

Analysts believe that BlackRock’s investments could impact the broader market sentiments. The firm’s move is somewhat an endorsement of potential Bitcoin as a mainstream asset in finance, which suggests that other institutional players may make their move into diversification of portfolios given the massive demand for Bitcoin ETFs.

With a never-before-seen scale of institutional investment in the crypto space, experts suggest that the continued buying spree by leading companies could just be the starting point of a potential rally. Blackrock’s step into the Bitcoin ETF market reflects how traditional financial houses have pivoted towards digital assets.

Notably, BlackRock’s iShares is trying to appeal to investors who want to diversify beyond the so-called Magnificent Seven (Apple, Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla). The firm launched the iShares Top 20 U.S. Stocks ETF this month which is made up of the 20 largest U.S. stocks by market capitalization.

The firm’s head of U.S. iShares product noted that the ETF’s mission is to deliver an easy and accessible way to tap into the innovation of mega caps – “whether that be in the tech-heavy Nasdaq space or, more broadly, within the S&P [500].”

On Wednesday, BlackRock achieved a significant milestone in the Bitcoin ETF market, recording the largest inflows since the inception of these investment funds in January. 

According to Bloomberg, approximately $872 million flowed into BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust on Wednesday, marking a daily record for the fund, highlighting the strong demand for Bitcoin ETFs, 

BlackRock’s total holdings in Bitcoin now stand at 429,185 BTC, valued at approximately $31.04 billion. This accounts for about 2.04% of Bitcoin’s total supply, capped at 21 million coins.

The recent inflows are being connected to the “Trump trade,” as Donald Trump gains momentum in betting markets ahead of the upcoming election day on November 5.