Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, has expanded the list of authorized participants for its spot Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), adding Citi, Goldman Sachs, UBS, and Citadel Securities. The total number of authorized participants now stands at nine.
Nine Authorized Participants for IBIT
In an amendment to its IBIT prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday, Blackrock named ABN AMRO Clearing USA, Citadel Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs, Jane Street Capital, JP Morgan Securities, Macquarie Capital (USA), UBS Securities, and Virtu Americas as authorized participants. These institutions are responsible for creating and redeeming baskets of 40,000 shares each.
Initially, only Jane Street Capital, JP Morgan Securities, Macquarie Capital (USA), and Virtu Americas were listed when the prospectus was filed on January 9, one day before the SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs. On March 4, Blackrock added ABN AMRO Clearing USA, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs, and UBS Securities. The latest amendment includes Citadel Securities as the ninth authorized participant.
IBIT Holdings Near 260,000 Bitcoin
Since its launch on January 11, Blackrock has been aggressively accumulating Bitcoin for its spot ETF. As of Thursday, IBIT’s bitcoin holdings have reached nearly 260,000 BTC, making it one of the largest Bitcoin ETFs in the market.
Blackrock CEO Larry Fink stated last week that he is “very bullish on the long-term viability of Bitcoin.” He emphasized that the iShares Bitcoin Trust “is the fastest growing ETF in the history of ETFs” and that “nothing has gained assets as fast as IBIT in the history of ETFs.” Robert Mitchnick, Blackrock’s head of digital assets, further revealed that for the firm’s clients, “bitcoin is overwhelmingly the number one priority. And then a little bit Ethereum, and very little everything else.”