The major stock exchange Nasdaq announced on Feb. 2 that it has listed BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
Nasdaq said that BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF is now trading on its platform while an executive endorsed the fund’s various features.
Kevin Kennedy, Nasdaq’s VP of of North American Markets, said:
“Through the ETF wrapper, investors can now access bitcoin cost-effectively and conveniently. IBIT helps to remove some of the obstacles and operational burdens that may prevent asset managers and financial advisors from directly investing in bitcoin.”
Executives from BlackRock also commented on the launch. Samara Cohen, BlackRock’s CIO of ETF and Index Investments, called the product a “moment of access for investors.” Meanwhile, Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s Global Head of Digital Assets, called the launch a “natural progression of our efforts.”
Nasdaq noted that the event was commemorated with a bell-ringing ceremony that included Kennedy and Cohen as speakers.
Nasdaq support is a significant step
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Fund gained regulatory approval on Jan. 10. Various brokerages began adding support starting Jan. 11.
However, today’s announcement today is significant because Nasdaq has been involved with the fund from an early date. Nasdaq was responsible for filing a proposed rule change, also known as a 19b-4 filing, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through which it aimed to list and trade shares of the iShares Bitcoin Fund. Alongside BlackRock’s S-1 filing, Nasdaq’s proposed rule change was key to IBIT’s eventual approval and launch.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust is significant in its own right. VettaFi’s ETF database indicates that IBIT has accumulated $2.8 billion in assets under management. That makes IBIT the largest spot Bitcoin ETF after accounting for outflows affecting Grayscale’s competing GBTC.
Nasdaq’s announcement today noted that BlackRock’s iShares series of ETFs has more broadly provided over 43 million investors with market access. The collection of funds includes more than 1,300 ETFs globally and has more than $3.12 trillion in assets under management.
