REUTERS / Eric Thayer
BlackRock has authorized two of its funds to invest in bitcoin futures, according to documents released on Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The move allows exposure to cryptocurrencies for customers of the world’s largest asset manager for the first time.
The $ 8.7 trillion asset manager said he could use bitcoin derivatives, among other assets, under the BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities and the BlackRock Global Allocation Fund.
Funds can only trade bitcoin futures settled in cash, which means that the holder will receive a simple cash credit once the contract expires. These settlements do not require physical delivery of the underlying asset.
More specifically, the two BlackRock funds will be traded only on bitcoin futures traded on exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. At the moment, the only registered grant to do this is CME.
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Bitcoin reached a historic record above $ 41,000 earlier this month, driven in large part by record amounts of money being injected into economies by governments and central banks to help alleviate the coronavirus crisis. The token was trading around $ 33,181 on Thursday – down nearly 6% on the day.
BlackRock reported assets under management of $ 8.68 trillion on December 31. In December, CEO Larry Fink noted that the world’s most popular cryptocurrency is experiencing gigantic movements on a daily basis and could unfold in a global market.
Rick Rieder, the company’s investment director, told Bloomberg shortly thereafter, there is a clear demand for bitcoin and that “it will be part of the asset pool for investors for a long time”.
Not everyone is a fan of cryptocurrencies. The nominee for U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who was previously head of the Federal Reserve, said earlier this week that bitcoin and the like are used “primarily” for illegal activities and that their use should be restricted.
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