Latest news with #iSharesBitcoinTrustETF
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Moscow Exchange Launches Bitcoin Futures for Qualified Investors
The Moscow Exchange has launched bitcoin BTC-linked futures contracts on Wednesday, yet the product is only available for qualified investors. The futures, seemingly tied to the value of the U.S.-listed iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), will be quoted in U.S. dollars per lot, though settlement will be handled in Russian rubles. The exchange said it would offer quarterly futures with the first expiration in September 2025, TASS reports. The launch builds on momentum from other Russian financial players exploring crypto exposure without direct asset ownership. The Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange, TASS adds, has been testing similar cash-settled futures. The country's largest bank Sberbank is launching bitcoin futures along with the Moscow Exchange. Sberbank's offerings also include structure bonds that track the price of bitcoin and the dollar-to-ruble exchange rate. Russia's central bank, long skeptical of crypto markets, approved last month the offering of securities and derivatives tied to cryptocurrencies, but only for qualified investors. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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Arabian Post
a day ago
- Business
- Arabian Post
BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Achieves Historic Growth Milestone
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF has surged into the ranks of the world's 25 largest exchange-traded funds , reaching $72.4 billion in assets under management just 1.4 years after its launch. This rapid ascent positions IBIT as the youngest ETF among the top 25 by a significant margin, with the next youngest fund being over 12 years old. Launched on January 5, 2024, IBIT has demonstrated unprecedented growth in the ETF landscape. Its swift accumulation of assets reflects a strong institutional appetite for regulated exposure to Bitcoin, coupled with investor confidence in BlackRock's management capabilities. The fund's impressive performance is further highlighted by its consistent inflows. IBIT recorded net inflows on 29 of the past 30 trading days, including a 32-day streak without any outflows. Notably, on April 28, the ETF experienced its highest single-day inflow of the year at $970.93 million, even as Bitcoin's price saw only a modest increase of 1.36%, closing at $95,000. This trend underscores the strong institutional demand for Bitcoin exposure through regulated investment vehicles. ADVERTISEMENT IBIT's rapid growth has also positioned it as the second-largest holder of Bitcoin globally, with holdings amounting to approximately 660,842 BTC. This places it just behind the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, in terms of holdings. The ETF's success is attributed to its low fees and the trust investors place in BlackRock's institutional framework. The fund's benchmark, the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate – New York Variant, provides a reliable and regulated pricing mechanism, further enhancing investor confidence. IBIT trades on the NASDAQ exchange, offering investors a familiar and accessible platform for Bitcoin exposure. BlackRock's foray into the cryptocurrency space with IBIT marks a significant shift in the financial industry's approach to digital assets. The ETF's success may pave the way for broader acceptance and integration of cryptocurrencies into mainstream investment portfolios.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitcoin Rules for Now, but the Crypto Landscape Is Vast
Investors want more than just a bit of bitcoin. Spot Bitcoin ETFs amassed inflows of nearly $9.6 billion from April 21 through May 27, according to data compiled by Morningstar Direct. With the price of the world's most popular cryptocurrency reaching all-time highs of more than $100,000 lately and the Trump administration championing digital assets, advisors might now want to expand their focus beyond just bitcoin. 'The capitalization of the crypto space right now is more than $3 trillion. How can you ignore that?' said Campbell Harver, Duke University professor and partner at Research Affiliates. 'It'd be like ignoring a couple of companies in the Magnificent Seven.' READ ALSO: RIA Headcount, AUM Shattered Records in 2024 and Bitcoin's Record Rally Prompts Advisors to Take a Second Look While spot Bitcoin ETFs have been seeing plenty of momentum lately, iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) is the real winner. Over roughly the past five weeks, IBIT has taken in $8.7 billion, per Morningstar. That's about 80% of its total inflows year-to-date. Bitcoin and ETFs that track it may be a new corner of portfolios, but advisors are quickly growing more comfortable with it. 'Most of my clients have a 5-10% allocation to Bitcoin,' said Mike Casey, founder of AE Advisors. 'Some are allocated significantly higher.' Bitcoin and IBIT are clearly the biggest players in the space, but advisors should have a wider view when considering crypto allocations, Harvey said, recommending wealth managers consider stablecoins — digital currencies pegged to traditional assets like the US dollar or gold. 'In my vision of the future, almost all assets will be tokenized — stocks, debts, mortgages, all this stuff,' he told Advisor Upside. 'We're going in that direction, and stablecoins are the first step.' But of course, stay away from meme coins. 'They have no fundamental value whatsoever,' Harvey said. 'They're like trading cards.' Golden Hour. Amidst the current economic uncertainty, some have begun viewing Bitcoin as a safe haven similar to gold, but that's still debated territory, given that their volatility profiles are drastically different, said Joy Yang, head of product management at MarketVector Indexes. 'Gold is more of a slow and steady type of asset and has been quietly outperforming US equities over the past 20 years,' she told Advisor Upside. 'Bitcoin has done it, too, but in a much more rollercoaster type of movement.' In the same five-week span, Gold ETFs have experienced almost $2.8 billion in outflows, with State Street's SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) accounting for nearly all of that, according to Morningstar. The precious metal's price per ounce is down from an all-time high of $3,500 in late April. However, gold is still outperforming Bitcoin, up 28% YTD compared with Bitcoin's 12% as of Monday. 'Bitcoin is still a teenager,' Yang said. 'It'll eventually be an adult, but it's going to take a winding path to get there.' This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive financial advisor news, market insights, and practice management essentials, subscribe to our free Advisor Upside newsletter.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Grayscale Wants in on Quantum Computing ETFs
Who says a crypto asset manager has to focus on crypto asset management? There's a world of possibilities out there, and one of the big crypto ETF issuers appears to be branching out. Grayscale filed on Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the Quantum Computing ETF. The Stamford, Connecticut-based firm started in the US ETF business in 2022 — and, thanks to the move of assets from its Bitcoin Trust to the spot bitcoin ETF it launched in 2024, temporarily had the biggest bitcoin ETF by assets. By August 2024, the significantly cheaper iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF surpassed it. Since then, Grayscale has been building out a line of ETFs with four focused solely on digital assets, two focused on income, two with equities exposure, one dedicated to bitcoin mining companies, and one to adopters of the digital asset. READ ALSO: BlackRock's 'Widow Maker' ETF Is Suddenly in High Demand and Nasdaq Wants to Wrap This $11.5B Altcoin in an ETF The proposed ETF, which is pending SEC approval but could launch by mid August, would be passively managed, tracking an index of companies 'producing proof-of-concept or commercialized quantum computing technologies' and makers of components enabling the technology, according to the prospectus. There is a lot of hype around quantum computing, which benefits from using both the wave and particle natures of matter, though the technology has not been developed in a mainstream capacity yet. It could improve upon the power of classical computers exponentially and make extraordinarily complex calculations in very short times. The technology could even pose a threat to crypto, as it could be used to break the security and gain access to wallets — something BlackRock recently warned investors about. Stop Being Disruptive: There are a handful of tech and artificial-intelligence-focused ETFs with exposure to quantum computing technology. But at least one ETF is already dedicated to the area: the $1.3 billion Defiance Quantum ETF, which launched in 2018. That fund has seen average annualized returns of 21% since inception, per Morningstar. 'It's performed very well,' said Bryan Armour, director of ETF and passive strategies research for North America. Even so, 'investors are pushing to get in early by virtue of the shift in first-mover advantage of new technologies … It's never as smooth as investors would think.' Armour cited examples of other high-flying technology investments that later sputtered, including: The internet (back when it was spelled with a capital 'I') and the dotcom bubble that led to the famous bust. One of the most disruptive technologies over the past century, commercial aviation, has long struggled with profitability, despite its popularity. Spot On: Grayscale is still primarily focused on digital assets. It, along with other firms, is waiting for decisions from the SEC on spot-price Solana and XRP ETFs that it has requested, for example. Whether the company intends to branch out in other ways is a question, but the firm didn't respond to a request for comment. 'Obviously crypto is its core competency, and it made most of its money by offering a private trust,' Armour said. Quantum computing, on the other hand, 'is not a core competency.' This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive exclusive news and analysis of the rapidly evolving ETF landscape, built for advisors and capital allocators, subscribe to our free ETF Upside newsletter. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Grayscale Wants in on Quantum Computing ETFs
Who says a crypto asset manager has to focus on crypto asset management? There's a world of possibilities out there, and one of the big crypto ETF issuers appears to be branching out. Grayscale filed on Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the Quantum Computing ETF. The Stamford, Connecticut-based firm started in the US ETF business in 2022 — and, thanks to the move of assets from its Bitcoin Trust to the spot bitcoin ETF it launched in 2024, temporarily had the biggest bitcoin ETF by assets. By August 2024, the significantly cheaper iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF surpassed it. Since then, Grayscale has been building out a line of ETFs with four focused solely on digital assets, two focused on income, two with equities exposure, one dedicated to bitcoin mining companies, and one to adopters of the digital asset. READ ALSO: BlackRock's 'Widow Maker' ETF Is Suddenly in High Demand and Nasdaq Wants to Wrap This $11.5B Altcoin in an ETF The proposed ETF, which is pending SEC approval but could launch by mid August, would be passively managed, tracking an index of companies 'producing proof-of-concept or commercialized quantum computing technologies' and makers of components enabling the technology, according to the prospectus. There is a lot of hype around quantum computing, which benefits from using both the wave and particle natures of matter, though the technology has not been developed in a mainstream capacity yet. It could improve upon the power of classical computers exponentially and make extraordinarily complex calculations in very short times. The technology could even pose a threat to crypto, as it could be used to break the security and gain access to wallets — something BlackRock recently warned investors about. Stop Being Disruptive: There are a handful of tech and artificial-intelligence-focused ETFs with exposure to quantum computing technology. But at least one ETF is already dedicated to the area: the $1.3 billion Defiance Quantum ETF, which launched in 2018. That fund has seen average annualized returns of 21% since inception, per Morningstar. 'It's performed very well,' said Bryan Armour, director of ETF and passive strategies research for North America. Even so, 'investors are pushing to get in early by virtue of the shift in first-mover advantage of new technologies … It's never as smooth as investors would think.' Armour cited examples of other high-flying technology investments that later sputtered, including: The internet (back when it was spelled with a capital 'I') and the dotcom bubble that led to the famous bust. One of the most disruptive technologies over the past century, commercial aviation, has long struggled with profitability, despite its popularity. Spot On: Grayscale is still primarily focused on digital assets. It, along with other firms, is waiting for decisions from the SEC on spot-price Solana and XRP ETFs that it has requested, for example. Whether the company intends to branch out in other ways is a question, but the firm didn't respond to a request for comment. 'Obviously crypto is its core competency, and it made most of its money by offering a private trust,' Armour said. Quantum computing, on the other hand, 'is not a core competency.' This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive exclusive news and analysis of the rapidly evolving ETF landscape, built for advisors and capital allocators, subscribe to our free ETF Upside newsletter. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
