According to Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg’s leading ETF analyst, financial giant BlackRock has updated the list of authorized participants on its Bitcoin ETF prospectus with a lot of big names. They include such first-timers as American multinational hedge fund Citadel, investment banking giant Goldman Sachs, Switzerland-based investment bank and financial services company UBS, as well as major investment bank Citigroup.
According to Balchunas, these authorized participants could have been on the list earlier, but they were “ashamed” of being associated with the product before its launch. However, now that BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF has ended up being a stunning success, they are more comfortable with being identified as authorized participants.
As reported by U. Today, it took BlackRock only seven weeks to reach $10 billion in assets under management with its Bitcoin ETF, which is a new record.
Ahead of the Securities and Exchange Commission approval in early January, BlackRock revealed that global proprietary trading firm Jane Street Capital and banking giant JP Morgan would be among its authorized participants. The inclusion of the latter was somewhat unexpected due to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s persistent skepticism toward Bitcoin. As reported by U. Today, Dimon voiced support for a cryptocurrency ban during a congressional hearing in December.
Authorized participants are supposed to create and redeem shares for the ETF issuer. They make it possible to exchange these shares for cash or some securities.
According to Balchunas, the inclusion of Citadel and other names means that “big-time firms” now want a piece of the Bitcoin action. Moreover, they are now comfortable being publicly associated with Bitcoin.