BlackRock, the world’s largest investment manager, has applied to launch a bitcoin exchange-traded fund designed to combine protection against losses with potential gains linked to its flagship bitcoin product.
The firm filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday for the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protect ETF. The proposed fund would follow the multi-billion-dollar iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, also known as IBIT.
According to the filing, the new fund would seek to give investors exposure to gains in the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF and/or similar bitcoin exposure up to an approximate limit, while also aiming to provide “a level of downside protection”.
“The Fund seeks to provide upside exposure to the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF and/or similar bitcoin exposure up to an approximate limit, while seeking to provide a level of downside protection,” BlackRock said.
The filing represents BlackRock’s third application for a bitcoin ETF. Its existing iShares Bitcoin Trust holds more than $65 billion in assets under management, according to The Block’s bitcoin ETF tracker, making it the largest fund of its type.
BlackRock launched IBIT in January 2024. In June, it added the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, which is intended to give investors bitcoin exposure while generating monthly option premium income.
The proposed managed-protection fund would therefore add another structure to BlackRock’s bitcoin range, alongside its existing fund and its premium-income product. The filing does not state the precise level of protection or the approximate limit for potential upside exposure.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart said BlackRock’s listed crypto products remained limited to bitcoin and Ethereum.
Writing in a post on X, Seyffart noted that other companies had launched ETFs tracking a wider range of digital assets over the past couple of years, including XRP, SOL and DOGE.
“Notably, this is the third Bitcoin ETF filing from them,” Seyffart said on Monday. “Still only have Bitcoin and Ethereum products — no other cryptos.”
