BlackRock’s Strategic Income Fund Boosts Bitcoin ETF Holdings Amid Rising Institutional Interest
BlackRock’s Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio, an in-house mutual fund, has increased its bitcoin exposure through additional purchases of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF, according to the latest SEC filing.
As of September 30, the fund held 2,397,423 IBIT shares valued at $155.8 million, a 14% increase from the 2,096,447 shares reported at the end of June.
The Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio is an unconstrained bond fund that invests across government debt, corporate credit, mortgages, emerging markets, and cash-like assets. Its flexible mandate allows it to incorporate nontraditional holdings, such as ETFs, when they support total return and diversification objectives, enabling IBIT to complement the fund’s fixed-income allocation.
IBIT has recently been in the spotlight after Nasdaq ISE filed to raise the position limit for IBIT options to one million contracts. Institutional ownership of IBIT has been steadily rising, now exceeding 400 million shares—the highest level since the ETF’s launch.
Bitcoin (BTC) recently climbed above $91,000, while IBIT rose about 2% in premarket trading to around $52 per share.
