Latest news with #IBIT
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Take the Bite Out of Bitcoin's Volatility Using an Options Collar
These days it seems like Bitcoin (BTCUSD) is everywhere. Retail and institutional investors are snapping up coins, investing in companies that hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets, and trading ETFs. It seems the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization is inescapable, which is both frightening and fascinating. Bitcoin is also incredibly volatile. The introduction of about a dozen ETFs that track the spot price of Bitcoin back in January 2024 has been a huge catalyst for crypto. The leader of that ETF pack is the one brought to market by Blackrock's iShares ETF unit, the behemoth of the managed investing world. Its Bitcoin ETF Trust (IBIT) has more than $70 billion in assets under management. 3 ETFs with Dividend Yields of 12% or Higher for Your Income Portfolio Dear Tesla Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 30 Nvidia Is Quickly Approaching a New Record High. Is It Too Late to Buy NVDA Stock? Markets move fast. Keep up by reading our FREE midday Barchart Brief newsletter for exclusive charts, analysis, and headlines. It also trades nearly $3 billion a day in volume. If we apply some quick math, that implies that the average IBIT investor holds that ETF for about 20 days. That's it. I can and do trade Bitcoin ETFs and many other funds and stocks. But in this case, I want to try to 'own' IBIT for a while. Several months to start, then maybe years. But that risk! This technical chart below is not the best-looking one I've seen lately. In fact, I get a very 'toppy' message from it. This makes it tough to open a position in IBIT with the intent to hold the fund for a longer time frame. I wanted to take the Bitcoin plunge, but I wanted to do it my way. I take a risk to make a high return, but I define my worst-case scenario up front. And since the options market has exploded in popularity and liquidity along with Bitcoin itself, I started looking into collaring it. As a refresher, a collar is where you buy a stock or ETF and accompany it with a pair of option contracts. One of them is a put purchase, which means for a set period of time, you can sell that underlying asset at a specific price. This is essentially the options market's version of an insurance policy. The other part of the collar is the 'covered call' which simply means that I take in some cash now in exchange for the obligation to sell the stock or ETF if it crosses above a specific price level before that option's time runs out ('expiration date'). I have owned an IBIT collar for several weeks, but for this article, I'm replicating my process for educational purposes. This table from Barchart, like most options tables, is quite busy. That's because there are so many options to choose from, literally and figuratively. Here's where to focus: IBIT traded for about $60 a share at this snapshot in time. One option contract represents 100 shares of IBIT, so to do this cleanly, I'd need to spend about $6,000 to buy the minimum amount of IBIT to complement that position with a collar. The options combination I picked out for this example is the one at the top of that table above. Both options expire on Dec. 19, 6 months from now. The call is struck at $75 and the put at $60. That's my range if I buy the put and sell the call. I bring in $3.90 for being willing to sell IBIT during the next 6 months at $75 a share. With the fund needing to appreciate 25% for that to be possible, I say, 'bring it on!' That's a high-class problem. It would cost me $7.70 to have the right to sell IBIT at $60 during the next 6 months. That said, if I were less risk-averse, if you look three rows further down, the puts struck at $55 cost only $5.30 a contract. Since each option contract relates to 100 shares of IBIT, that means the first example costs $770 for that protection. Or, I can pay only $530 for the $55 strike puts, but that means I might have to sell IBIT for $500 less than the original contract I mentioned above ($60-$55 times 100 shares). Let's sum this up, using that original example: It costs me about $60 a share for 100 IBIT shares. It costs me $7.70 a contract for the protection (puts). I receive $3.90 a contract for capping my upside (calls). The next options cost, in round numbers, is about $4 a share ($7.70-$3.90). So, my range of outcomes is $75-$4=$71 best case if called, and $60-$4=$56 is my worst case. Remember, IBIT was a $60 purchase in this example. So, that's $11 of upside, $4 of downside over 6 months. Nearly a 3:1 ratio. And that's nearly 20% IBIT upside in 6 months, versus less than 7% downside. For an ETF that was trading at $43 in April, I like this tradeoff. Because I can always trade around it. This is potentially the start of a longer-term position. We'll see. But the key here is that by using the flexibility of an option collar, we can potentially tame the volatility inherent in some high-flying assets, while also taming our own emotions related to the risk of investing. On the date of publication, Rob Isbitts had a position in: IBIT. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BlackRock Looks to Take ETF Volume Crown from State Street
State Street Corp. (STT) is on track to lose its position as the world leader in ETF trading volume, as investors aggressively snap up BlackRock Inc. (BLK) funds, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. State Street, whose SPDR business is the third-largest U.S. ETF issuer by assets behind BlackRock's iShares and The Vanguard Group, controls 31% of U.S. exchange-traded fund trading volume, Bloomberg ETF Analyst Athanasios Psarofagis wrote. While rival BlackRock holds 25%, its share is growing faster thanks to trading in the iShares Bitcoin ETF Trust (IBIT), its spot Bitcoin fund, and the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV). Volume is critical in the ETF business where the three largest funds, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and IVV charge rock-bottom fees and count on huge assets to generate income. The $607.4 billion SPY, which this year lost its title as the world's largest ETF to the $679.8 billion VOO, is the most expensive among the world's three biggest ETFs. 'BlackRock has steadily narrowed the gap and is on track to take the No. 1 spot,' Psarofagis wrote. VOO has become the largest ETF due to winning the most investor money this year, hauling in a net $80.9 billion while the other two big funds have had outflows. Still, SPY typically does more volume: Last week, 585 million shares traded, crushing VOO's 67.8 million and IVV's 66.8 million, according to FactSet data on IBIT, the fastest-growing ETF on record, had volume of 339.7 million shares last week. IBIT One-Month Price and Volume—Source: FactSet Volume overall has grown 'dramatically' in the past few years, and now about $13 trillion trades each quarter, Psarofagis wrote. The top 10 ETFs account for 44% of all volume and, while that's concentrated, it's actually broadened from a peak of 51%, he said. Analysts have speculated that IVV may soon surpass SPY to become the second-largest | © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved 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
Business Insider
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
I tried 2 ways of investing in bitcoin. One thrived and one failed miserably, teaching me a valuable lesson.
Back in December of 2024, I decided to hop aboard the bitcoin train and add some crypto exposure to my portfolio. Markets were flush off of the recent Trump victory, there were whispers of a national bitcoin reserve, and bitcoin had recently broken the $100,000 threshold for the first time. The cryptocurrency had gone mainstream enough for late adopters like myself to deem it investable. For my first foray into bitcoin, I purchased a share of Blackrock 's iShares Bitcoin Trust Trust (IBIT). I later added a share of Semler Scientific (SMLR), a healthcare technology company that holds bitcoin on its balance sheet. I wanted to try multiple methods of investing in bitcoin. In hindsight, I realize I committed the classic retail investor impulse: buying in because of FOMO. Sure, positive investor sentiment led to gains in bitcoin, as well as the ETF I bought that was designed to track the crypto. But my stock purchase proved ill-timed. Almost six months later, bitcoin has crossed new all-time-highs, and I have mixed feelings on my investment. Bitcoin ETFs are a beginner-friendly way to get exposure I opted to buy IBIT instead of actual spot bitcoin because it was a more accessible way to get exposure. I didn't want the hassle of setting up a Coinbase account. Plus, buying a single share in an ETF was more psychologically appealing than buying a tiny fraction of a bitcoin (I did not have a spare $100,000 or the risk tolerance to buy an entire bitcoin). The performance has been encouraging. Year-to-date, IBIT is up about 14%, outpacing a 12% gain for bitcoin itself. It's done its job of tracking the crypto, and even added a little extra. And it's far outperformed the S&P 500, which is up just 2% in 2025. ETFs can experience slight tracking differences due to management fees, operational costs, and the timing of inflows and outflows. But if you want a rough proxy of bitcoin performance without actually owning the underlying asset, IBIT gets the job done. A year and a half over its launch, IBIT has gained incredible popularity, growing to over $70 billion in assets under management. Robert Cannon, a financial advisor at Experity Wealth with a specialization in alternative assets, recommends his bitcoin-curious clients to start with the ETF. "It's the easiest, cleanest representation of bitcoin, compared to some of the other strategies that are a bit esoteric," Cannon told me. The ETF wrapper has really helped bitcoin adoption take off in the last year, Rahul Sen Sharma, president and co-CEO at the custom index provider Indxx, told me. Sharma's seeing a surge in interest for bitcoin and digital asset ETFs, and he believes Trump's continued support for crypto will pave the way for more mainstream adoption. Be careful with bitcoin treasury companies Getting bitcoin exposure through other methods was indeed more esoteric — and much less profitable. I added Semler Scientific to my portfolio on January 8, 2025, and it's down more than 40% since then. There's a growing trend among companies to add bitcoin to their balance sheets, with Strategy, Tesla, and GameStop being one of the most prominent examples. The president's own Trump Media and Technology Group has recently raised $2.5 billion to buy bitcoin. Semler Scientific started adding bitcoin to its balance sheet in May of last year and now holds over 4,000 bitcoins. It sounds like a good idea in theory: holding bitcoin as a reserve asset could be a hedge against inflation and dollar weakness, and could also lead to capital appreciation as bitcoin takes off. Some companies like Strategy have had tremendous success. The firm has accumulated over half a million bitcoins, and the stock has outperformed the underlying crypto year-to-date. However, it's hard to replicate the scale and expertise of Strategy. While many of Cannon's clients often inquire about bitcoin treasury companies like Strategy, he usually recommends they stick to the basics with an ETF. There were also company-specific headwinds for Semler Scientific. The company had been under investigation from the Department of Justice for allegedly misleading claims about one of its medical devices. My takeaway from the experience is that buying a single stocks as a bitcoin proxy is probably not a good idea. When you buy into a bitcoin treasury company, you're also inheriting all of its company-specific risks. That includes everything from management decisions and financial health to legal exposure, product performance, and market sentiment around the core business. As a result, the benefits of diversification with bitcoin are watered down. If you're looking for bitcoin exposure, either buying the real thing or a spot ETF is your best bet. Maybe the strategy from here on out is to close out of my position in SMLR and do some tax-loss harvesting this year.
Crypto Insight
7 days ago
- Business
- Crypto Insight
BlackRock quietly accumulated 3% of all Bitcoin. Here's what that means
BlackRock's entry into the Bitcoin market through the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has marked a new era in institutional Bitcoin accumulation. Since its launch on Jan. 11, 2024, IBIT has grown at a pace that few expected, and no other ETF has matched. As of June 10, 2025, BlackRock holds over 662,500 BTC, accounting for more than 3% of Bitcoin's total supply. At today's prices, that's $72.4 billion in Bitcoin exposure, a staggering figure by any measure. For comparison, it took SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) over 1,600 trading days to reach $70 billion in assets under management. IBIT did it in just 341 days, making it the fastest-growing ETF in history. In addition to being a milestone for BlackRock itself, this fact also shows us how deeply institutional interest in Bitcoin has matured. BlackRock's Bitcoin holdings now eclipse those of many centralized exchanges and even major corporate holders like Strategy. In terms of raw Bitcoin ownership, only Satoshi Nakamoto's estimated 1.1 million BTC outnumbers IBIT, and that lead is narrowing. If inflows continue at the current pace, IBIT may eventually become the single largest holder of Bitcoin, a major change for Bitcoin supply distribution and ownership concentration. BlackRock Bitcoin accumulation over time Did you know? Coinbase Custody, not BlackRock, holds the private keys for the BTC in IBIT, safely storing client assets offline and backed by commercial insurance. Behind BlackRock's massive allocation is a strategic shift in how it views Bitcoin: as a legitimate component of long-term, diversified portfolios. The BlackRock Bitcoin strategy BlackRock's internal thesis embraces Bitcoin's volatility as a tradeoff for its potential upside. With IBIT, they're betting that broader adoption will stabilize the asset over time, improving price discovery, increasing liquidity and narrowing spreads. In this view, Bitcoin is a long-term play on monetary evolution and digital asset infrastructure. This philosophy (coming from the world's largest asset manager) sends a strong signal to peers. It reframes the conversation around institutional adoption of Bitcoin, shifting it from 'whether' to 'how much' exposure is appropriate. The investment case for institutional Bitcoin accumulation BlackRock highlights several factors that make Bitcoin appealing in 2025: Scarce by design: With a hard cap of 21 million coins and a halving-based issuance model, Bitcoin scarcity mirrors gold, but with a digital backbone. Some estimates suggest a meaningful share of existing coins are lost or inaccessible, making the effective supply even tighter. With a hard cap of 21 million coins and a halving-based issuance model, Bitcoin scarcity mirrors gold, but with a digital backbone. Some estimates suggest a meaningful share of existing coins are lost or inaccessible, making the effective supply even tighter. Alternative to dollar-dominance: With growing sovereign debt and geopolitical fragmentation in mind, Bitcoin's decentralized nature offers a hedge against fiat risk. It's positioned as a neutral reserve asset, resistant to government overreach and monetary manipulation. With growing sovereign debt and geopolitical fragmentation in mind, Bitcoin's decentralized nature offers a hedge against fiat risk. It's positioned as a neutral reserve asset, resistant to government overreach and monetary manipulation. Part of the broader digital transformation: BlackRock views Bitcoin as a macro proxy for the shift from 'offline' to 'online' value systems, from finance to commerce to generational wealth transfer. In their words, this trend is 'supercharged' by demographic tailwinds, especially as younger investors gain influence. Put together, these factors provide distinct risk-return characteristics that traditional asset classes can't replicate. BlackRock's framing (that Bitcoin offers 'additive sources of diversification') makes a compelling case for its integration into mainstream portfolios. BlackRock crypto portfolio integration BlackRock advocates a measured approach, 1% to 2% exposure within a traditional 60/40 stock-bond mix. This may sound small, but in a portfolio of institutional scale, it's enough to generate impact and normalize Bitcoin exposure for conservative allocators. They also benchmark Bitcoin's risk profile against high-volatility equities, like the 'Magnificent Seven' tech stocks, to demonstrate how it can fit within standard portfolio models. Did you know? Unexpected by-products ('dust') from Bitcoin transactions within IBIT have included tiny amounts of other tokens. BlackRock keeps these in a separate wallet or donates them to charity, avoiding tax complications. BlackRock's decision to accumulate over 3% of Bitcoin's total supply through its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is a turning point for how Bitcoin is perceived, traded and regulated. Bitcoin has always been known for its volatility, driven by fixed supply, shifting sentiment and regulatory uncertainty. Historically, the relatively thin liquidity of crypto markets made large trades highly impactful. Now, with IBIT absorbing hundreds of thousands of BTC, the question is whether institutional capital will stabilize or further complicate the market. Supporters of the ETF model argue that institutional Bitcoin investment helps reduce volatility. With regulated players like BlackRock involved, the thinking goes, Bitcoin becomes more liquid, more transparent and more resistant to erratic moves. BlackRock itself has stated that broader participation improves Bitcoin price discovery, deepens market liquidity and can lead to a more stable trading environment over time. On the other hand, critics (including certain academics) warn that large-scale institutional involvement introduces traditional market risks into Bitcoin. These include leveraged trading, flash crashes triggered by algorithms and price manipulation via ETF flows. In this view, Bitcoin's financialization may trade one kind of volatility (retail-driven FOMO) for another (systemic, leverage-based risk). Also, as ETFs grow in influence, Bitcoin may become more correlated with other financial assets, undermining its value as an uncorrelated hedge. Undoubtedly, BlackRock's crypto strategy has turned Bitcoin from a fringe asset into a mainstream investment tool. For years, Bitcoin was dismissed by major financial institutions. BlackRock's deep exposure to BTC signals that the tide has turned. The launch of IBIT (and its rapid ascent to become one of the largest Bitcoin holders globally) has legitimized Bitcoin in a way no white paper or conference ever could. ETFs like IBIT offer a familiar, regulated structure for exposure, especially for institutions wary of the technical complexity or custodial risks of direct crypto ownership. BlackRock's involvement reduces reputational risk for others on the fence. In effect, this has normalized Bitcoin ownership by institutions, accelerating its inclusion in traditional portfolios. Retail investors benefit too. Instead of navigating wallets, seed phrases and gas fees, they can gain exposure to Bitcoin with a click through traditional brokerages. Did you know? Abu Dhabi's Mubadala sovereign wealth fund owns a significant stake in IBIT, with filings showing around $409 million invested. Bitcoin was built as a decentralized alternative to centralized finance. However, when the world's largest asset manager buys up over 600,000 BTC via a centralized vehicle, it creates a paradox: The decentralized asset is increasingly controlled by centralized institutions. Most users today rely on centralized exchanges (CEXs), custodians or ETFs. These platforms are easier to use, offer security features like insurance and cold storage and provide regulatory compliance (KYC, AML), which many see as essential. In contrast, decentralized tools like DEXs and self-custody wallets have higher friction, lower liquidity and less user protection. So even as Bitcoin remains technically decentralized, most people interact with it through centralized layers. Here, BlackRock's Bitcoin accumulation is emblematic. While some argue this undermines Satoshi's original vision, others view it as a necessary trade-off, a 'centralization of access' that allows Bitcoin to scale to global relevance. This is the heart of the Bitcoin centralization debate: balancing ideological purity with practical adoption. For now, the market seems to be accepting a hybrid model, with decentralized base layers and centralized access points. BlackRock's ability to launch IBIT was made possible by a landmark decision: the US Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in early 2024. That ruling broke a years-long deadlock and opened the floodgates for institutional capital. Still, the broader regulatory environment remains inconsistent and often contradictory. One of the biggest challenges when it comes to crypto? Asset classification. The SEC continues to send mixed signals on whether various tokens, like Ether or Solana, are securities. This regulatory gray zone has delayed the development of products like staking ETFs or altcoin ETPs, and created confusion for investors, developers and issuers alike. As Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw has pointed out, the SEC's current stance creates 'muddy waters' and reactive enforcement that stifles innovation. This directly impacts whether institutions feel confident investing beyond Bitcoin. For now, Bitcoin enjoys a more straightforward regulatory path. For the broader crypto market to mature, including Ether ETFs or DeFi-linked products, a more consistent and globally aligned regulatory framework will be essential. Institutions are ready – but they need rules they can trust. Source:
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BlackRock's Bitcoin Fund Becomes Quickest ETF to Top $70 Billion
BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) is one of the best stocks for a . The company's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the biggest Bitcoin ETF available, has reached $70 billion in assets faster than any ETF before it, marking another major achievement. According to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, IBIT, the leading option among the 12 Bitcoin ETFs currently on the market, hit the milestone on June 9, 341 days after its launch. Balchunas noted on X that IBIT reached that level '5x faster than the old record held by GLD of 1,691 days,' referring to State Street's well-known gold ETF. Though firms like Fidelity and VanEck also offer Bitcoin ETFs, none match BlackRock's in size. Fidelity's FBTC holds $20 billion, while Grayscale's GBTC trails slightly with just under $20 billion. IBIT and ten other Bitcoin ETFs made their debut early last year following long-awaited approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Their launch highlighted strong investor interest in gaining exposure to Bitcoin's price, with IBIT pulling in over $1 billion in assets during its first four days. By November, BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)'s Bitcoin ETF had outpaced its gold ETF in assets, becoming the largest among the firm's 1,400 global funds. While we acknowledge the potential of BLK as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and Disclosure. None. Sign in to access your portfolio
