sBUIDL can be used as collateral, traded or deployed in DeFi protocols while maintaining exposure to yield from underlying Treasurys. SBUIDL is BlackRock’s first tokenized fund with native decentralized finance (DeFi) capabilities. SBUIDL is the DeFi-compatible version of BlackRock’s $1.7-billion tokenized money market fund, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL). BlackRock’s sBUIDL fund is more than just a digitized version of a treasury; it’s a glimpse into a future where traditional finance flows through decentralized pipes. Read more
Asset managers BlackRock and ARK Invest have indicated interest in acquiring over $150 million in Circle’s shares BlackRock is reportedly planning to take a significant stake in Circle’s upcoming initial public offering (IPO). According to a May 28 Bloomberg report citing anonymous sources, BlackRock is looking to purchase roughly 10% of the offering. Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, is aiming to raise $624 million in its initial public offering Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management is also interested in buying $150 million worth of shares in the offering, the report said. Read more
The $11 trillion asset manager reported holding more than 2.1 million shares of IBIT as of March 31. BlackRock’s in-house portfolio has been quietly accumulating shares of its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), underscoring the asset manager’s growing commitment to the cryptocurrency as part of a broader diversification strategy. As of March 31, 2025, the BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio held 2,123,592 shares of the company’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), valued at $99.4 million, according to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). That’s a notable uptick from Dec. 31, 2024, when the portfolio held 1,691,143 IBIT shares. BlackRock’s IBIT was among 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs approved by the SEC in January 2024. Since then, it has emerged as the largest fund in its category with more than $72 billion in net assets, according to Bitbo data. Read more
BlackRock’s quantum computing warning serves as a call to action for the cryptocurrency ecosystem to address the looming challenges. In a rare move, BlackRock has quietly added a new line to its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) filing — and it is turning heads. The update, submitted in early May 2025, flags quantum computing as a potential risk to Bitcoin’s long-term security. The filing specifically warns that if quantum tech advances far enough, it could break the cryptographic systems that secure Bitcoin. Read more
The asset manager added a detailed overview of quantum computing threats to the risk disclosure in its Bitcoin ETF's regulatory filing. Emerging technologies, including quantum computing, could potentially render the cryptography securing Bitcoin and other blockchain networks ineffective, asset manager BlackRock said in a regulatory filing. On May 9, BlackRock updated the registration statement for its iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT). The revised version addressed potential risks to the integrity of the Bitcoin network posed by quantum computing, the filing shows. “[I]f quantum computing technology is able to advance […] it could potentially undermine the viability of many of the cryptographic algorithms used across the world’s information technology infrastructure, including the cryptographic algorithms used for digital assets like bitcoin,” BlackRock said. Read more
BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF has now posted 19 days of consecutive inflows, the longest inflow streak for the world's asset manager this year. BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) capped off the trading week with another day of inflows, pulling in $356.2 million on May 9. The fund has now extended its inflow streak to 19 consecutive days — its longest run of inflows so far this year. IBIT’s inflow streak has been ongoing since April 14, and has coincided with a volatile Bitcoin (BTC) market, with the asset trading between $83,152 and $103,000 over the period. However, market sentiment has been increasing after the asset reclaimed and held above the $90,000 price on April 23 before reclaiming the $100,000 price on May 8 for the first time since Feb. 1. Read more
Staking for Ether ETFs has been a hot topic in 2025, with Grayscale and Fidelity both filing for rule changes that would allow this functionality. Wall Street giant BlackRock met with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Crypto Task Force to discuss staking within crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) and tokenization of securities. The discussion could advance institutional interest in the crypto industry. According to a May 9 memo published by the task force, BlackRock sought to “[d]iscuss perspectives on treatment of staking, including considerations for facilitating ETPs with staking capabilities.” The company has previously said that Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds, while successful, are less perfect without staking. Other crypto ETF issuers share that view. On Feb. 15, the New York Stock Exchange proposed a rule change to introduce staking services for Grayscale’s spot Ether ETFs. In April, the SEC delayed a decision on whether to approve or disapprove the rule change. BlackRock and Grayscale...