Asset management giant BlackRock is planning on including spot market Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) exposure in its proposed in-house investment fund.
BlackRock recently submitted a prospectus to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) related to its proposed “Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio,” a fund that will invest in high-yield securities, international securities, emerging markets debt and mortgages.
The prospectus indicates the proposed fund may also invest in other market sectors, like BlackRock’s newly approved BTC ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
BlackRock wrote extensively about the risks associated with Bitcoin exposure in the document submitted to the SEC.
“The opaque nature of the digital asset market poses asset verification challenges for market participants, regulators and auditors and gives rise to an increased risk of manipulation and fraud, including the potential for Ponzi schemes, bucket shops and pump and dump schemes. Digital assets have in the past been used to facilitate illicit activities.
If a digital asset was used to facilitate illicit activities, businesses that facilitate transactions in such digital assets could be at increased risk of potential criminal or civil liability or lawsuits, or of having banking or other services cut off, and such digital asset could be removed from digital asset platforms.
Any of the aforementioned occurrences could adversely affect the price of Bitcoin, the attractiveness of the Bitcoin blockchain network and Bitcoin-related investments.
Last week, IBIT became one of only 52 ETFs out of 3,400 to cross $10 billion in assets under management (AUM), according to Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
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