BlackRock announces new Bitcoin trust for US clients

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, on Thursday launched a new private spot Bitcoin trust that will offer institutional clients in the US direct access to the popular cryptocurrency.

“Despite the steep downturn in the digital asset market, we are still seeing substantial interest from some institutional clients in how to efficiently and cost-effectively access these assets using our technology and product capabilities,” BlackRock, which is overseeing over $10 trillion in total assets, said in a blog post.

‘Most liquid cryptoasset’
Bitcoin, the world’s most popular crypto, was on Thursday trading at about $24,700, still more than 60% below its all-time high of almost $69,000 last November.

“Bitcoin is the oldest, largest and most liquid cryptoasset, and is currently the primary subject of interest from our clients within the cryptoasset,” BlackRock said.

The launch of the new fund comes close on the heels of an announcement last week that BlackRock had partnered with Coinbase to allow its institutional clients to buy crypto, starting with Bitcoin.