BlackRock’s Bitcoin income-focused ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA), has secured regulatory approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is set to begin trading on the Nasdaq on June 16.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas confirmed that Nasdaq cleared the launch for Tuesday, a day after the SEC approved the fund’s notice of effectiveness. The rapid clearance allowed BITA to hit the market earlier than some market watchers had expected.
As reported by crypto.news, BlackRock filed for the product on June 12. Rather than holding Bitcoin directly, the ETF allocates primarily to shares of BlackRock’s own iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT)—the world’s largest spot Bitcoin ETF by assets under management.
How BITA’s covered-call strategy generates income
According to the final prospectus, BITA is designed to generate income while maintaining exposure to Bitcoin price movements. It implements a covered-call strategy: selling call options linked to its IBIT holdings. The premiums from those options become the main income source for shareholders.
Balchunas elaborated on the mechanics: “The ETF will target 15-25% annual yield while trying to capture at least 70% of bitcoin’s upside in the process.”
Investors pay a sponsor fee of 0.65% per year, accrued daily and paid quarterly. BlackRock also warned that investors may indirectly bear costs from options transactions, brokerage commissions, financing expenses, legal services, and fund operations.
Balchunas previously described BITA as the natural successor to IBIT, noting that IBIT is the fastest-growing ETF in industry history by asset growth.
BlackRock expands its ETF lineup beyond crypto
BITA arrives as BlackRock broadens its ETF offerings across multiple themes. Last week, the asset manager launched the iShares Space Technologies UCITS ETF (ticker STAR) in the United Kingdom and Europe. It tracks the STOXX Global Space Satellites and Drones Index, requiring constituent companies to generate at least 25% of revenue from space, satellite, or drone-related businesses. A fast-entry mechanism allows newly listed qualifying firms to enter the index within 10 to 30 days of their IPO—a rule BlackRock designed to capture rapid developments in industries like space, including potential future listings such as SpaceX.
Balchunas had initially estimated BITA would debut later in the week, but Nasdaq’s expedited approval pushed the launch forward.