Thomas Daniels
BlackRock Inc. has deepened its exposure to Bitcoin by significantly increasing its holdings in the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) within its Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio.
As of March 31, 2025, the $11 trillion asset manager held 2,123,592 shares of IBIT, valued at approximately $99.4 million. This represents a 25% increase from the 1,691,143 shares reported at the end of 2024.
This strategic shift underscores BlackRock’s ongoing effort to diversify its traditionally bond-focused portfolio by integrating digital assets such as Bitcoin. The Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio seeks to enhance returns while preserving capital through exposure to alternative asset classes.
Approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2024, IBIT has since emerged as the leading spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States. It currently manages over $72 billion in net assets, significantly outpacing its nearest competitor, Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), which holds roughly $22 billion.
Institutional demand for Bitcoin ETFs has surged, evidenced by a record-breaking $3.6 billion in net inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs in May 2025 alone. BlackRock’s IBIT contributed a substantial portion of this total, consistently drawing daily inflows surpassing $500 million.
Analysts project this momentum to continue. Asset manager Bitwise anticipates that Bitcoin ETF inflows could reach $120 billion by the end of 2025 and rise to $426.9 billion by 2026. Such growth could result in institutional investors locking up as much as 20% of the total Bitcoin supply.
BlackRock’s increased allocation to IBIT within its Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio reflects the accelerating integration of cryptocurrency into mainstream investment strategies and signals a broader shift in institutional asset management.
