BlackRock Joins Bitcoin Business – The world’s largest asset manager said two of its funds can now invest in cryptocurrency | Currency News | Financial and business news

BlackRock has allowed two of its funds to invest in bitcoin futures, according to documents released Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The move allows cryptocurrency exposure to the world’s largest asset manager’s clients for the first time.

The $ 8.7 trillion asset manager said it could use bitcoin derivatives, among other assets, as part of BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities And the Universal BlackRock Personalization Fund.

Funds are only allowed to trade Bitcoin futures contracts that are cash settled, which means that the holder will receive a small cash credit once the contract expires. Such settlements do not require physical delivery of the underlying asset.

More specifically, BlackRock funds will only trade in bitcoin futures contracts that are traded on exchanges registered with the CFTC. At present, the only exchange registered to do so is the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Read more: We talked to Gemini backed by Winklevoss about bitcoin, how to use stablecoins, and why regulation won’t stem the cryptocurrency boom.

Bitcoin hit an all-time high Above $ 41,000 earlier this month, Driven largely by record sums of money pumping governments and central banks into economies to help relief from the coronavirus crisis. The token traded around $ 33,181 on Thursday – down roughly 6% for the day.

BlackRock reported that assets under management amounted to $ 8.68 trillion as of December 31. And in December, Notice CEO Larry Fink The world’s most famous cryptocurrency is witnessing giant movements on a daily basis and could potentially unfold in the global market.

Rick Reader, Chief Investment Officer of the company, He told Bloomberg Shortly thereafter, there was a clear demand for Bitcoin and that it “will be part of the asset group for investors for a long time”.

Not everyone likes cryptocurrencies. US Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen and formerly chair of the Federal Reserve said earlier this week that Bitcoin and the like were “primarily” used for illegal activity and Its use should be limited.

Read more: The behavior of bubbles is growing in the markets, and the big tech companies are swinging from two major political events this month – three heavyweight investment companies jointly managing nearly $ 1 trillion and breaking the impact on these stocks and how they are positioned.