The world's largest asset manager, with a portfolio worth roughly $10tn, has made another move into the crypto industry, launching an ETF in Europe. The fund called iShares Blockchain Technology UCITS ETF (BLKC) is aimed at providing European customers with bigger exposure to cryptocurrency and blockchain companies.
The ETF will track the NYSE FactSet Global Blockchain Technologies Capped Index, composed of companies developing, innovating, and utilizing crypto technologies. It is listed on Euronext, the pan-European exchange, with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.50%.
"We believe digital assets and blockchain technologies are going to become increasingly relevant for our clients as use cases develop in scope, scale, and complexity. The continued proliferation of blockchain technology underscores its potential across many industries" – said Omar Moufti, a product strategist at BlackRock.
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BLKC includes 35 crypto companies from around the world, with the largest allocations to a cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, a trading company Galaxy Digital, and a mining enterprise Marathon Digital. It also covers Paypal, Nvidia, and IBM. Overall, 75% of the companies are strictly crypto businesses, while the remaining 25% contribute to supporting the blockchain ecosystem.
With its European ETF BlackRock makes further inroads into the crypto market. In mid-August, the financial giant launched the BlackRock Future Financial Technology ETF investing in disruptive fintech companies. Earlier in August, BlackRock inked a deal with Coinbase to provide institutional clients of its Alladin investment management platform with access to crypto trading, prime brokerage, and reporting features.
Now, the company is preparing a metaverse-focused offer, according to yesterday's filing. The details haven't yet been released. The offer will probably include firms offering products and services related to virtual platforms and other digital assets.