Bitcoin (BTC) is one of the best-performing assets of the last decade. Since its launch, BTC’s price has surged by many thousand percent. The profits have gained the interest of many global financial institutions, including BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, with almost $10 trillion worth of assets under management.
However, despite BTC’s massive profits, financial giants were cautious about entering the cryptocurrency market, likely due to the volatility. Institutions preferred having a spot ETF (Exchange Traded Fund), which would reduce risks. The US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) made a historic decision earlier this month and approved 11 spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs. One of the applicants is BlackRock.
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As of today, the world’s largest asset manager holds 11,439 BTC, worth around $469,925,559. BlackRock currently has the second-highest BTC holdings, behind GrayScale, among the funds approved by the SEC.
Despite the massive holding, BlackRock is not the top Bitcoin holder. BTC creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s wallet still has the highest amount of BTC, with more than 1 million coins, valued at around $35 billion today.
Will BlackRock’s involvement in Bitcoin push BTC’s price?
Being the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock will not enter an industry without considering the risks. The firm’s entry into the industry is a testament to the asset’s potential. Spot BTC ETFs have already seen billions of dollars worth of inflows. Moreover, this figure may continue to rise over this year. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has gone as far as to call BTC digital gold. Fink stated, ‘If you’re fearful of your government, or worrying your government is devaluing the currency, then you could see this as a great potential long-term store of value.‘
Also Read: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Calls Bitcoin Digital Gold
The sentiment around spot BTC ETFs will likely reflect in Bitcoin’s (BTC) price. Many analysts anticipate BTC’s price to surpass $100,000 by the end of this decade. Some analysts have painted even more bullish scenarios, with predictions of BTC hitting $1 million.
