Global investment giant BlackRock has received regulatory approval from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to operate as a crypto asset firm, marking another significant step in its Bitcoin investment strategy.
According to an April 1 report from DL News, BlackRock—which manages around $12 trillion in assets—will now be able to offer its new European Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) in the UK.
With this approval, BlackRock joins Coinbase, PayPal, and Revolut as the 51st company registered with the FCA. Notably, the FCA has approved only 14% of applications, rejecting many due to incomplete or poor-quality submissions.
The iShares Bitcoin ETP (IB1T), BlackRock’s latest Bitcoin investment product, began trading last week on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam.
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The ETP launched with a temporary fee waiver, reducing its expense ratio to 0.15% until the end of 2024.
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From 2025, fees will rise to 0.25%, aligning with CoinShares’ $1.3 billion physical Bitcoin ETP, the largest in Europe.
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Each share is backed by real Bitcoin, with Coinbase serving as the custodian.
IB1T follows the success of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in the U.S., which has amassed over $48 billion in assets since launch.
Unlike the U.S.-listed IBIT, IB1T is structured through a Swiss-based special-purpose vehicle (SPV) to comply with European financial regulations.
BlackRock’s expansion into the European market reflects rising demand for regulated Bitcoin investment products outside North America.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink recently highlighted the potential role of Bitcoin as a hedge against excessive U.S. government spending.
In his annual letter, Fink warned that the growing U.S. debt burden could weaken the dollar’s dominance, potentially driving more investors toward Bitcoin as a store of value.
As traditional financial institutions embrace regulated Bitcoin products, BlackRock’s FCA approval could pave the way for further institutional crypto adoption in the UK and beyond.
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