BlackRock has authorized two of its funds to invest in bitcoin futures, according to filings released Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The move allows exposure to cryptocurrencies for clients of the world's largest asset manager for the first time.
The $8.7 trillion asset manager said it could use bitcoin derivatives, among other assets, under the BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities and the BlackRock Global Allocation Fund.More specifically, BlackRock's two funds will trade only in those bitcoin futures that trade on exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. At present, the only exchange registered to do so is the CME.
Read More: We spoke to Winklevoss-backed crypto platform Gemini about bitcoin, how to use stable coins, and why regulation won't kill the boom in digital currenciesBitcoin scored an all-time high above $41,000 earlier this month, driven largely by record amounts of money being pumped into economies by governments and central banks to aid relief from the coronavirus crisis. The token was trading around $33,181 on Thursday - a drop of almost 6% on the day.
BlackRock reported assets under management of $8.68 trillion as of December 31. In December, CEO Larry Fink noted that the world's most popularNot everyone is a fan of cryptocurrencies. US Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen, who previously was head of the Federal Reserve, said earlier this week bitcoin and the like were "mainly" used for illegal activity and their use should be curtailed.
Copyright © 2021. Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.For reprint rights. Times Syndication Service.
Next