BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, announced yesterday (2/29) that it will expand its business to the Brazilian market and collaborate with the Brazilian Stock Exchange B3 to launch the Brazilian Depositary Receipts (BDR) of its Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, with the ticker symbol IBIT39. The trading of IBIT39 will be open during the opening time of the Brazilian market today.
Summary:
After the approval of the Bitcoin ETF, Grayscale GBTC, how much capital has flowed into the cryptocurrency market?
Background:
JPMorgan: Grayscale GBTC has lower liquidity than BlackRock and Fidelity’s Bitcoin Spot ETF.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin Spot ETF, IBIT, has become the second-largest Bitcoin ETF in terms of asset management size, following Grayscale GBTC. According to statistics from Lookonchain, IBIT acquired up to 10,140 Bitcoins, worth approximately $638 million, in the previous trading day. Currently, IBIT holds a total of 151,536 Bitcoins, with a total value exceeding $9.15 billion.
BlackRock Issues IBIT BDR in Brazil
In addition to the US market, BlackRock has also entered the Brazilian market. According to Portaldobitcoin, BlackRock announced yesterday (2/29) that it will collaborate with the Brazilian Stock Exchange B3 to launch the Brazilian Depositary Receipts (BDR) of its Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, with the stock ticker IBIT39. BDR refers to stock certificates issued in other countries (in this case, the US) but traded in Brazil, similar to how TSMC stocks are issued in Taiwan but traded as ADR in the US.
IBIT39 has the same management fee as IBIT, which is 0.25%, and it will be lowered to 0.12% within the first year or when the assets under management reach $5 billion. Although it is subject to similar tax rules as stocks, BDR does not enjoy any tax exemptions.
This is the first cryptocurrency ETF launched by BlackRock in Brazil, and it will be available for trading during the opening time tonight. Regarding the expansion of the Bitcoin Spot ETF to Brazil, Karina Saade, the President of BlackRock Brazil, stated:
Felipe Gonçalves, the Director of Interest and Currency Products at B3, emphasized that this product provides investors with a new opportunity to include Bitcoin in their portfolios.
IBIT’s net fund flow accounts for 42% of all ETFs managed by BlackRock.
It is worth mentioning that the successful listing of IBIT is significant for BlackRock. ETF analyst Eric Balchunas from Bloomberg pointed out today:
Similarly, Fidelity Investments’ Bitcoin Spot ETF, $FBTC, although accounting for only 2% of its ETF management funds, has accounted for 64% of the total inflows into Fidelity ETFs this year. These data clearly demonstrate the high demand for Bitcoin Spot ETFs among investors.
Related Reports:
Real-time Status of Bitcoin Spot ETF: Grayscale GBTC holdings fall below 500,000 coins, total trading volume reaches 25.9 billion RMB, 7 issuers with 0 fees compete for the market.
Bitcoin Spot ETF Trading Volume Hits a Record High of 7.7 billion RMB! CoinShares: Institutional demand exceeds supply by 3 times.
Morgan Stanley Plans to Enter the Bitcoin Spot ETF and Provide Investment Options for Clients.