Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager appears to have granted at least two of its funds the ability to invest in bitcoin futures.
On Wednesday, Blackrock’s regulatory filings for BLACKROCK GLOBAL ALLOCATION FUND, INC. and BlackRock Funds V state the funds “may use instruments referred to as derivatives,” that derive their value from financial instruments “including bitcoin.”
The filings warn that investments in these futures could carry illiquidity risks due to the “relatively new” market. Regulatory changes, volatility and valuation risks could similarly weigh on the price and thus “adversely impact a Fund.”
The filings appear to mark BlackRock’s entrance into the bitcoin market.
Before Wednesday, the investments giant has never so much as mentioned “BlackRock bitcoin” in any of its regulatory filings. But that appears to be changing: “Certain Funds may engage in futures contracts based on bitcoin,” the prospectus documents state.
Blackrock global allocation fund
Last November, the company’s CIO for fixed income, Rick Rieder, told CNBC that cryptocurrency maybe “here to stay,” and could even replace gold “to a large extent,” noting that it was “much more functional” than the yellow metal.
CEO Larry Fink even acknowledged bitcoin’s rising popularity, saying it had potential to turn into a global market asset last year.
The asset manager also recently posted a job opening for a blockchain and crypto executive, seeking a vice president of blockchain for its New York office.
Candidates for the position should be able to create valuation models for cryptocurrencies, but also evaluate governance models and other aspects of the underlying technology, the posting said.
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