BlackRock, the largest global asset manager, announced today it would be adding allocations of its iShares Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund, or IBIT, to a small number of its clients’ model portfolios.
Within BlackRock’s model portfolio product, what’s called “target allocation portfolios that allow for alternatives” will now be weighted 1-2% towards IBIT, a company spokesperson told DL News.
That number is directly in line with a recommendation made by BlackRock last year on what percentage of Bitcoin investors should hold in their own portfolios.
These portfolios are a small fraction of the total under BlackRock’s management, according to a company spokesperson.
BlackRock has $11.6 trillion in total assets under management. Given that footprint, the move — even if only towards a small fraction of its client base — could spur increased flows towards the world’s highest-value cryptocurrency. Even if only a fraction of investors take advantage of the new product offering, billions may flow into Bitcoin.
“The addition of IBIT to these portfolios as a diversifier [is] in line with the investment objectives of this model,” a BlackRock spokesperson tells DL News, adding the affected portfolios “are designed for investors with a higher risk budget and growth target.”
The IBIT exchange-traded fund, which launched in January 2024, generated historic inflows through its debut year, reaching $50 billion within 11 months of its debut; it currently stands at $48 billion in net assets.
Speaking to the Financial Times in December, BlackRock Chief Financial Officer Martin Small told the publication: “I’ve never seen anything like it in my career for something to go from 0 to $50bn in basically six months.”
The allocation announcement, first broken by Bloomberg, came amid a halt in Bitcoin’s decline.
Earlier in the day Bitcoin had reached a 2025 low of around $78,850. It has since rebounded to $83,846 at time of publishing. Bitcoin was down 15% over the last seven days and has lost a quarter of its value since US President Donald Trump was inaugurated on January 20.
Renewed fears around tariffs and a cacophonous White House have tempered high expectations for the crypto markets broadly in the wake of the November 5 election.
Andrew Flanagan is a markets correspondent for DL News. Have a tip? Reach out to [email protected].
