BlackRock updates bitcoin ETF offering to allow cash redemptions

20.12.2023

BlackRock has updated its application for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to allow cash redemptions, which could help it win approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

A string of applications for spot bitcoin and etherium ETFs, including from traditional financial gatekeepers, has revitalized the cryptocurrency market this year after a series of collapses in 2022.

“The trust issues and redeems baskets on an ongoing basis. These transactions will be done in exchange for cash. Subject to regulatory approval in kind, these transactions may also be conducted in exchange for bitcoin,” BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF said in a filing Monday.

The SEC has so far rejected all bitcoin-ETF applications, citing the potential for fraud, but market participants had hoped for approval early next year.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has previously tried to redeem baskets to investors only in bitcoin or “in-kind.”

The spot cryptocurrency ETF will track the market price of the underlying crypto asset, giving investors the ability to use the token without buying the currency.