The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock with around $11.6 trillion in assets under management, is set to bring a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded product (ETP) into the European market.
The move follows the resounding success of the firm’s ETF offering exposure to the flagship cryptocurrency, which has reached $58 billion in assets just a year after launch and saw significant adoption among institutional investors.
The new European ETP, likely to be domiciled in Switzerland, is expected to begin marketing as soon as this month, according to a Bloomberg report that points out it will be BlackRock’s first crypto-linked ETP outside of North America.
The firm, a dominant force in the ETF landscape with over $4.4 trillion in assets under management across such products, has become a leading Wall Street advocate for digital assets.
While Europe has seen crypto-linked ETPs trading for years, these funds are significantly behind those in the U.S. in terms of assets. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has recently pointed out that the latter have a 91% market share.
Europe barely on leaderboard of spot bitcoin ETFs by size.. US spot ETFs only year old and have 91%(!) share of world. We kick so much ass when it comes to cost and liquidity. If BlackRock brings even some of the US Terrordome over there, should see success, altho keep in mind… pic.twitter.com/fwFDE84rhS
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) February 5, 2025
BlackRock CEO’s Bitcoin Stance
Last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink touted BTC’s benefits as a hedge against currency debasement after late last year, the firm’s Bitcoin ETF saw its total assets surpass those of its gold funds.
The launch of several U.S. Bitcoin ETFs a year ago ignited a surge in demand, attracting a staggering $116 billion in inflows across 12 funds. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) leads the pack, shattering industry records with what is considered the most successful debut of any ETF ever recorded.
While the European crypto ETP market is competitive, with over 160 products tracking various cryptocurrencies, its $17.3 billion market capitalization is dwarfed by the market capitalization of most cryptocurrency funds trading in the U.S.
