BlackRock’s Larry Fink is still optimistic about the asset manager’s chances of listing an ether ETF even if the SEC considers the asset to be a security.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says he doesnt think ETH’s designation a security would affect the chances of a spot ether ETF being approved.
Shutterstock
Posted March 28, 2024 at 3:30 am EST.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is off to a strong start with both its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which has been trading since Jan. 11, and its even newer Ethereum-based tokenized fund, which has seen significant deposits since its launch last week.
BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), now has over $17 billion in assets under management, and at the current rate of inflows into the fund, is on course to surpass Grayscale Investments’ flagship bitcoin fund-turned ETF, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), in terms of total bitcoin holdings.
Meanwhile, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund launched last Wednesday, under the ticker “BUIDL,” has minted nearly $245 million of BUIDL tokens in a week, according to blockchain data from Etherscan. The fund gives holders exposure to tokenized US Treasuries and repo agreements, offering them yield from the underlying assets.
The firm has also applied to list a spot Ethereum ETF, subject to approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and CEO Larry Fink appears to be optimistic about the prospect of that approval coming through, despite lowered expectations from market participants, including Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
In an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday, Fink was questioned on whether BlackRock could still list an ether-based ETF if the SEC deems it to be a security and he replied “I think so.”
The CEO also added that he doesn’t “think that designation is going to be deleterious.”
found the clip
Blackrock’s Larry Fink says it doesn’t matter what $ETH gets labeled as by the SEC, ETF is possible both ways pic.twitter.com/Hj7NrHjf6b
— Kris Kay | 🦇🔊🍩 DeFi Donut (@thekriskay) March 27, 2024
Last week, Fortune reported that the SEC had started probing the Ethereum Foundation shortly after its blockchain transitioned to a proof-of-stake consensus model.