At the Bitcoin Conference held on July 25 in Nashville, Tennessee, Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, shared the asset management giant’s perspective on the current state of interest in cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
During a panel discussion titled “From Strategy to Innovation: BlackRock’s Bitcoin Journey,” Mitchnick highlighted that BlackRock’s clients predominantly favor Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), indicating a minimal demand for other digital assets.
“I would say that our client base today, their interest overwhelmingly is in Bitcoin first, and then somewhat in ETH <…> and there’s very little interest today beyond those two,” he stated.
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Earlier this year, BlackRock introduced its first crypto ETFs: iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in January and iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) in July. Mitchnick noted that the company does not anticipate a significant expansion in the variety of crypto ETFs.
He also pointed out that when clients invest in ETH ETFs, they typically do so to supplement their existing crypto portfolio rather than to replace BTC holdings, explaining:
The whole store of value use case within crypto is pretty definitively territory that Bitcoin owns. ETH is trying to do a bunch of different applications that, for the most part, Bitcoin is not trying to do. So, really, they’re more complements than they are competitors or substitutes.
Looking ahead, Mitchnick anticipates that investors might allocate around 20% of their crypto holdings to Ethereum, with the majority continuing to be invested in Bitcoin.
Contrasting BlackRock’s cautious stance, VanEck, which also offers BTC and ETH ETFs, recently filed for a Solana ETF.
Thus, while BlackRock remains cautious about expanding its cryptocurrency ETF offerings beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, the industry continues to explore new opportunities.
Having completed a Master’s degree in Economics, Politics, and Cultures of the East Asia region, Aaron has written scientific papers analyzing the differences between Western and Collective forms of capitalism in the post-World War II era.With close to a decade of experience in the FinTech industry, Aaron understands all of the biggest issues and struggles that crypto enthusiasts face. He’s a passionate analyst who is concerned with data-driven and fact-based content, as well as that which speaks to both Web3 natives and industry newcomers.Aaron is the go-to person for everything and anything related to digital currencies. With a huge passion for blockchain & Web3 education, Aaron strives to transform the space as we know it, and make it more approachable to complete beginners.Aaron has been quoted by multiple established outlets, and is a published author himself. Even during his free time, he enjoys researching the market trends, and looking for the next supernova.
