BlackRock’s accumulation interest in Bitcoin remains steady, with its portfolio growing to 363,626 Bitcoin as of Friday, September 27. The asset manager has been bullish on cryptocurrencies for nearly a decade and shows no signs of stopping.
As its Bitcoin holdings increase, BlackRock is solidifying its position as the most dominant institutional player in the cryptocurrency space.
BlackRock buys 1,434 Bitcoins, expands Bitcoin portfolio
On Friday, the asset manager bought 1,434 bitcoins worth $94.3 million, bringing its total purchases over the past four days to 5,894 bitcoins worth $387.68 million. Prior to that, the firm bought 4,460 bitcoins worth $289 million on September 26. BlackRock currently owns 363,626 bitcoins worth $23.68 billion.
“BlackRock Bought Another 1,434 BTC ($94.3M)! BlackRock (IBIT) has added 5,894 BTC ($387.68M) in the past 3 days and now holds a total of 363,626 BTC ($23.68B),” Lookonchain reported.
BlackRock is the third-largest Bitcoin holder, behind Satoshi Nakamoto and Binance. As the company continues to increase its holdings, it is closing in on Binance, which reportedly holds around 550,000 BTC.
The appeal of Bitcoin comes as BlackRock sees it as a safe haven. Robbie Mitchnick, the firm’s head of digital assets, believes Bitcoin is fundamentally a safe haven asset. Mitchnick believes Bitcoin is not tied to the economic conditions or policies of any one country. He said the scarce asset [BTC] is not subject to common risks such as currency debasement and political unrest.
“Bitcoin’s correlation with stocks sometimes spikes and sometimes drops. In fact, gold exhibits a lot of the same patterns where it has brief periods of spikes but then it’s close to zero over the long term,” Michnik said.
Notably, BlackRock’s newly found pivot on Bitcoin marks a significant shift, especially for the firm’s CEO Larry Fink, an outspoken Bitcoin skeptic who once viewed Bitcoin as a speculative and potentially dangerous asset.
BlackRock's IBIT leads the spot Bitcoin ETF market
Despite the company's active purchases of Bitcoin, its flagship product, IBIT Bitcoin ETF (Exchange Traded Fund), remains at the forefront of the spot BTC ETF market. As of September 27, its cumulative net inflows reached $21.42 billion, followed by Fidelity's FBTC with a net inflow of $9.99 billion. Like other issuers, BlackRock provides institutional investors with indirect exposure to BTC through this financial instrument.
Following the approval of the Bitcoin ETF in the United States in January this year, institutional investors' enthusiasm for Bitcoin has also increased. As of the close of Friday, the total net inflow of funds from all issuers reached US$18.8 billion.
Notably, BlackRock’s IBIT has raised custody concerns as it remains the most successful spot Bitcoin ETF in terms of inflows. Investors are questioning why Bitcoin price performance has failed to reflect positive flows.
On the other hand, some worry that increased institutional adoption could threaten or erode Bitcoin’s founding principles. Specifically, institutional control of the crypto space would shift power back to the very entities that Bitcoin was designed to bypass.
