BlackRock Plans to Expand Its Bitcoin-Related ETPs to Europe

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager with over $11 trillion in AUM (assets under management), plans to expand its Bitcoin-related exchange-traded products to Europe.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is planning to expand its Bitcoin-related exchange-traded products into Europe, according to a report by Bloomberg on Monday, February 6. The fund will reportedly be domiciled in Switzerland, with marketing efforts set to begin as early as this month.

A senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg noted that the U.S. and Asia currently dominate the BTC ETF market, with Europe having a minimal presence in the space.

“U.S., Asia dominate BTC ETFs; Europe barely on leaderboard of spot bitcoin ETFs by size… If BlackRock brings even some of the US Terrordome over there, should see success, although keep in mind Europeans much less into ‘hot sauce’ than US and certain Asian countries,” the analyst stated.

The report did not disclose any details regarding the product’s fees. However, BlackRock was one of the first issuers to receive approval to launch a U.S. spot BTC ETF in early 2024.

The product, known as the iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), has achieved remarkable success in both the crypto scene and traditional markets.

As of February 4, IBIT had gathered over 585.3K BTC, valued at nearly $58 billion at press time.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has consistently expressed optimism towards Bitcoin. In a recent statement, he highlighted its potential as a hedge against fiat currency debasement and political instability.

"If you're frightened of the debasement of your currency, or… of the economic or political stability of your country, you can have an internationally based instrument called Bitcoin that will overcome those local fears… BTC could be $500k, $600k, $700k,” Fink stated at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.