BlackRock Expands Authorized Participants For Its Spot Bitcoin ETF, Enables Enhanced Liquidity and Accessibility
In Brief
BlackRock updated the list of authorized participants for its spot Bitcoin ETF, adding Citadel, Goldman Sachs, UBS and Citigroup.
Asset management firm BlackRock, responsible for the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) IBIT, revised its investment vehicle’s roster of authorized participants (APs). The updated list now includes additional companies such as Citadel Securities, Goldman Sachs, UBS Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, and ABN AMRO Clearing USA, expanding the total number of APs to nine.
Authorized Participants are specialized entities, often large financial institutions, that provide cash to the ETF management company in exchange for ETF securities. Subsequently, they sell these securities to investors. This process is essential in maintaining the liquidity and accuracy of ETF share prices in the market.
Such expansion is anticipated to enhance IBIT’s liquidity and improve its accessibility to investors. Additionally, the involvement of major institutions from the realm of traditional finance, such as Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, suggests that Bitcoin is gaining acceptance as a mainstream asset.
According to a post on the social media platform X shared by Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, this development suggests that large traditional finance companies are now expressing interest in participating in spot Bitcoin ETFs and are willing to be publicly associated with them.
BlackRock’s Spot Bitcoin ETF: What’s New?
BlackRock among nine other issuers of spot Bitcoin ETFs obtained approval from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch their investment products and began trading on exchanges in the United States in early January.
Initially, BlackRock’s iShares product had only four authorized participants, which encompassed Jane Street Capital, Macquarie Capital, JPMorgan Securities, and Virtu Americas. However, as per the official filing, it was mentioned that more authorized participants could be added at any time, based on the company’s discretion.
Since its launch, the IBIT investment product has experienced over $14.4 billion in net inflows. Yesterday, it observed a net inflow of around $144 million, marking the highest single-day net inflow among other issuers.
Bitcoin is trading slightly below the $68,000 threshold, with its current price recorded at $67,929. This represents a modest increase of over 0.5% within the 24-hour period, based on data sourced from CoinMarketCap at the time of writing.
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