Summary
TLDR: Several major U.S. banks, including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, have been added as partners to BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF since its launch in January. Despite previous skepticism towards crypto, these banks are now authorized participants in the fund, signaling growing interest and acceptance of the asset class. Bitcoin ETFs have seen significant inflows, with BlackRock’s holding over $16 billion in assets.
Key Points
1. Several major U.S. banks, including Citadel, Goldman Sachs, UBS, and Citigroup, have been added as partners to BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF since the product went live in January.
2. BlackRock named these banks as “authorized participants” for its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), responsible for creating and redeeming shares of the fund to keep its price aligned with that of Bitcoin.
3. The addition of these new banks as authorized participants signals a growing interest from major firms in the crypto space, despite previous skepticism or reluctance to publicly associate with cryptocurrencies.