BlackRock Enters European Crypto Market with Bitcoin ETP Launch
BlackRock (BLK), the world’s largest asset manager, has officially expanded its cryptocurrency offerings beyond North America with the launch of a bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe.
The iShares Bitcoin ETP made its debut on Xetra and Euronext Paris under the ticker IB1T, while also being listed on Euronext Amsterdam as BTCN, according to iShares’ official listing details.
This move follows the massive success of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) in the U.S., which remains the largest among 12 approved spot bitcoin ETFs. IBIT currently holds over $50 billion in assets and has attracted nearly $40 billion in net inflows, according to data from SoSoValue. BlackRock also launched a similar offering in Canada earlier this year.
While the approval of U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs was a significant moment for the crypto sector, Europe has long been home to bitcoin ETPs. Asset managers CoinShares and 21Shares lead the market, collectively managing nine of the top 20 crypto ETPs by assets, according to ETFbook. The CoinShares Physical Bitcoin ETP is currently the largest in Europe, with $1.3 billion in assets and a 0.25% fee.
To enhance its appeal, BlackRock has partnered with Coinbase (COIN) for custody services and introduced a limited-time fee reduction for the European ETP, setting the fee at 0.15% until the end of 2025.
The launch was first reported by Bloomberg.
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