Overview
BlackRock is making waves in Brazil’s cryptocurrency market by launching the country’s first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the iShares Bitcoin Trust BDR (IBIT39). Scheduled to debut on March 1 on Brazil’s main stock exchange B3, the iShares Bitcoin Trust Brazilian Depositary Receipts (BDR) will initially be available to qualified investors. There are plans in place to extend access to retail investors pending regulatory approval.
Insights
According to InfoMoney, BlackRock Brazil Country Manager Karina Saade highlighted the ETF’s purpose of providing regulated access to Bitcoin for investors. Saade emphasized the strategic growth of digital asset investments in Brazil, stating, “IBIT39 is a natural evolution of our efforts over several years and builds upon the core capabilities we have developed in the digital asset realm.”
“Our digital asset journey has been underpinned by the goal of providing high-quality access vehicles to investors,” said Saade.
Saade expressed BlackRock’s belief in the potential of technology to enable all investors to construct a portfolio exclusively with ETFs, without directly endorsing crypto. While acknowledging the increasing investor interest in this asset class, Saade clarified, “Our goal is to offer our clients secure and transparent products. We do not provide recommendations or have specific expectations for Bitcoin itself.”
IBIT39 is designed to track Bitcoin’s price performance and carries a management fee of 0.25%, which will be reduced to 0.12% for the first year on the initial $5 billion in assets under management (AUM).
Commenting on the growing crypto market in Brazil, B3’s Interest and Currency Products Superintendent Felipe Gonçalves noted, “The listed crypto market began in 2021 and now comprises 13 ETFs. It is a relatively new market, with assets totaling R$2.5 billion.” Gonçalves added, “It witnessed strong volumes initially, experienced some fluctuations over two years, and by the end of last year, trading volumes had reached R$30 million per day.”
