BlackRock was the only reason Bitcoin ETF investments didn’t turn negative in 2025, raising concerns for altcoin ETF performances without the asset manager. The long-awaited approval of altcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may not bring the massive inflows investors expect without participation from asset management giant BlackRock, according to market data. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF received $28.1 billion in investments in 2025, as the only fund with positive year-to-date (YTD) inflows, pushing total spot Bitcoin ETF inflows to a cumulative $26.9 billion. Without BlackRock’s fund, the spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a cumulative net outflow of $1.27 billion year-to-date, according to K33’s head of research, Vetle Lunde. Read more
Circle’s new Arc blockchain testnet launches with participation from more than 100 institutions, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Visa and Mastercard. Circle, the world’s second-largest stablecoin issuer, launched the public testnet for Arc, its open layer-1 blockchain network built to bring global financial infrastructure onchain. The rollout, which Circle calls the “Economic Operating System for the internet,” includes participation from over 100 major companies spanning banking, capital markets and fintech — among them BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Visa, Mastercard and State Street, according to a Tuesday announcement. “With Arc’s public testnet, we’re seeing remarkable early momentum as leading companies, protocols, and projects begin to build and test,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said. “Combined, these companies reach billions of users, move, exchange, and custody hundreds of trillions in assets and payments,” he added. Read more
Bitcoin’s biggest holders are moving billions into ETFs like BlackRock’s IBIT, signaling a new phase of institutional adoption. Large Bitcoin holders who accumulated the cryptocurrency early, commonly known as whales, are increasingly moving their holdings into exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with asset managers such as BlackRock actively courting them. In an interview with Bloomberg, Robbie Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, said the company has already facilitated more than $3 billion worth of these conversions into its iShares spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT). After years of self-custody, many whales are recognizing “the convenience of being able to hold their exposure within their existing financial adviser or private-bank relationship,” Mitchnick said. Read more
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETP debuts on the London Stock Exchange as UK regulators ease rules on crypto-linked investment products. BlackRock launched a Bitcoin-linked exchange-traded product (ETP) in the United Kingdom following the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) decision to ease restrictions on crypto investment vehicles. On Monday, the asset manager’s website showed that the iShares Bitcoin ETP had been listed on the London Stock Exchange. According to the Sunday Times, the product, which is structured as a Bitcoin-linked security, will allow investors to buy fractions of Bitcoin (BTC) through units starting at about $11. The ETP is designed to mirror BTC prices while trading within a regulated framework, allowing investors to participate in the crypto market through traditional brokerage accounts. It allows UK-based retail investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without directly holding the asset or trading it on crypto exchanges. Read more
BlackRock is expanding into the stablecoin market with a redesigned money market fund, compliant with the new GENIUS Act, to provide a secure reserve vehicle for issuers. BlackRock has redesigned one of its flagship money market funds to meet new US stablecoin rules. The $13.5 trillion asset manager said the revamped fund, called the BlackRock Select Treasury Based Liquidity Fund (BSTBL), will help manage reserves for companies behind US dollar-pegged stablecoins, offering them a safe place to park customer funds, according to CNBC. “We want to be — and we believe we are — a preeminent reserve manager” for stablecoin issuers, Jon Steel, the global head of product and platform for BlackRock’s cash management business, told CNBC. Read more
Record inflows to BlackRock’s crypto ETFs cement the asset manager’s dominance as institutional investors pour billions into Bitcoin and Ethereum exposure. BlackRock’s iShares exchange-traded funds (ETFs) helped power the asset manager to a strong quarter of earnings and revenue, underscoring the continued momentum behind its crypto-related products as institutional demand accelerates. The iShares platform, which includes more than 1,400 ETFs globally, attracted a record $205 billion in total net inflows in the third quarter, according to the company’s quarterly financial statement. Those inflows fueled a 10% increase in organic base fee growth during the quarter and 8% growth over the past 12 months, Chairman and CEO Larry Fink said in a statement. Fink reiterated that BlackRock is “always preparing for the future,” highlighting ongoing offerings in emerging sectors such as technology, data analytics and digital assets. Read more
The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, or IBIT, has earned BlackRock $25 million more in fees than its second-most profitable ETF and is just shy of reaching $100 billion in net assets. BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund has generated nearly $245 million in fees over the past year, making it now the most profitable ETF for the firm by a wide margin. The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) currently beats the iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) and the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA) by $25 million in annual revenue, BlackRock ETF analyst Eric Balchunas posted to X on Monday. IBIT became the most profitable BlackRock ETF when it surpassed IWF and EFA around mid-July, as previous X posts from Balchunas show. Read more
BlackRock filed a registered trust company to back its proposed Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, a yield-generating product that would complement its $87 billion spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT. Asset management giant BlackRock filed to register a Delaware trust company for its proposed Bitcoin Premium Income ETF on Thursday, signaling a push to broaden its Bitcoin offerings. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said BlackRock’s proposed product would sell covered call options on Bitcoin futures, collecting premiums to generate yield. The regular distributions would, however, trade away potential upside from investing in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, which mirrors Bitcoin’s (BTC) price movements. Read more