- The Story of Bitcoin ETF and BlackRock
- Resolving the Coinbase Situation
- Expert Comments
BlackRock, managing $9.1 trillion in assets, has recently been under the spotlight due to its Bitcoin ETF and collaboration with Coinbase.
The Story of Bitcoin ETF and BlackRock
BlackRock has long been a magnet for conspiracy theorists, especially following the recent release of its Bitcoin ETF. Social media posts claimed that BlackRock forced Coinbase to deposit Bitcoin directly on-chain after suspecting the sale of 'paper BTC' to ETF issuers.
Resolving the Coinbase Situation
Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst for Bloomberg, clarified that BlackRock simply needed to reconcile the data on its end. The financial giant runs its own blockchain node, validating coins held by IBIT by pulling the balances from their addresses on Coinbase Prime, the institutional brokerage arm of the largest US exchange. This data can be shown to institutional clients upon request but is not publicly available due to spam concerns.
Expert Comments
Eric Balchunas noted that BlackRock's operations are far from amateurish: the company manages around 500 ETFs storing holdings with custodians and has been doing this for decades without a hitch. Adam Cochran, partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, explained that BlackRock and Coinbase’s collaboration to push competitive settlement timelines for commodity ETPs is a positive development for the market.
The collaboration between BlackRock and Coinbase aims to improve the reliability and transparency of Bitcoin ETFs, as supported by expert comments.
