Asset management giant BlackRock added $4.1 million worth of its spot Bitcoin ETF shares to two of its funds, according to May 28 SEC filings.
The asset manager added $3.6 million of its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) shares to its BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio (BSIIX).
It also added $486,000 worth of IBIT shares to its BlackRock Strategic Global Bond Fund (MAWIX).
Each purchase covers additions in the first quarter of 2024. BlackRock previously disclosed plans to add IBIT to its other funds in its SEC filings on March 8.
The company also reported owning $6.6 million of IBIT shares in a 13F filing on May 10.
Hundreds of other investors
BlackRock’s various investments in IBIT position it alongside numerous third parties that purchased shares of the spot Bitcoin ETF in the first quarter.
According to Fintel data on May 28, at least 422 firms have disclosed IBIT holdings.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas recently commented on spot Bitcoin ETFs’ hundreds of investors, noting that “even having 20 holders” is significant for newborn ETFs.
IBIT is the most popular spot ETF, accounting for about half of the 929 firms that disclosed investments in the first quarter.
Millennium Management and Schonfeld Strategic Advisors have the largest positions in IBIT, amounting to $844.2 million and $248.0 million, respectively.
Several globally systematically important banks (G-SIBs), including JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, BNY Mellon, BNP Paribas, UBS, and Royal Bank of Canada, have also invested in IBIT.
IBIT ranks highly
The latest investments come as IBIT continues to lead in terms of outflows. IBIT achieved $16.4 billion in net flows as of May 24 — nearly doubling the second highest net flows of Fidelity’s FBTC to date.
IBIT reported $17.2 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of May 28, accounting for 31% of all spot Bitcoin ETFs’ combined AUM.
Grayscale’s GBTC, with $20 billion AUM, surpasses IBIT and represents another 37% of the total but has seen $17.7 billion in net outflows since its launch.