Income Fund at BlackRock Raises Bitcoin ETF Stakes by 14%

BlackRock’s Strategic Income Fund Increases Bitcoin ETF Holdings Amid Institutional Demand

BlackRock’s Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio, one of the firm’s in-house mutual funds, has expanded its exposure to bitcoin by buying additional shares 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, marking a 14% increase from 2,096,447 shares reported at the end of June.

The Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio is an unconstrained bond fund investing across government debt, corporate credit, mortgages, emerging markets, and cash-like assets. Its flexible mandate allows it to include nontraditional holdings, such as ETFs, when they support total return and diversification goals—allowing IBIT to be part of the fund’s fixed-income mix.

IBIT has recently drawn attention after Nasdaq ISE filed to raise the position limit for IBIT options to one million contracts. Institutional ownership of IBIT continues to climb, now exceeding 400 million shares, the highest level since the ETF’s launch.

Bitcoin (BTC) recently surpassed $91,000, while IBIT traded around $52 per share in premarket trading, up about 2%.