: BlackRock's CIO of Fixed Income, Rick Rieder, noted that Bitcoin was "here to stay" and could potentially replace gold as a store of value. Where is BlackRock Now? (Current Status)
: The funds were strictly prohibited from holding physical Bitcoin at that stage. BlackRock Gives 2 Funds Go-Ahead to Invest in B...
: The funds were only allowed to trade cash-settled Bitcoin futures on CFTC-registered commodity exchanges, such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) . : BlackRock's CIO of Fixed Income, Rick Rieder,
The "interesting story" you're referring to dates back to , when BlackRock first authorized two of its major funds—the BlackRock Global Allocation Fund and the BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio —to invest in cash-settled Bitcoin futures. : The funds were only allowed to trade
At the time, this was a massive shift for the world's largest asset manager, which had previously been cautious about cryptocurrencies. Key Details from the 2021 Story
Since those early moves, BlackRock's involvement has evolved from "dabbling" in futures to dominating the spot market. iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF | IBIT - BlackRock