BlackRock has taken another procedural step toward listing its bitcoin income ETF on Nasdaq, filing a Form 8-A for the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF. The filing is commonly viewed as one of the last moves before an ETF begins trading. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas wrote on X that this step “typically means launch in one week,” and said he would bet the fund, trading under the ticker BITA, starts on June 18.
Income strategy built on covered calls tied to IBIT
The fund is designed to generate income by selling call options on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). IBIT is the largest spot bitcoin ETF, holding $49 billion in net assets. According to the filing details cited in the report, the new fund will write options each month on part of its holdings and collect the option premium as income.
That structure comes with a clear limit. If bitcoin rises sharply, the fund’s upside is capped because the sold calls restrict part of the gains. On fees, BITA is set to charge 0.65%, below the 0.95% and 0.99% charged by the two largest covered-call bitcoin funds currently on the market.
Seeded already, with registration effectiveness still pending
Earlier filings show the fund has already been seeded. It is buying bitcoin, purchasing IBIT shares, and writing options. With the 8-A filing now submitted, the main remaining requirement is for the registration to become effective.
Balchunas said a day earlier that the launch looked close and noted that BlackRock was moving quickly to get ahead of a competing Goldman Sachs product. That fund is expected to go live around July 1. If BITA launches as expected, BlackRock would expand its bitcoin lineup beyond spot exposure and into an income-focused structure aimed at mainstream investors.