BlackRock’s launch of the iShares Bitcoin ETF in Australia is being hailed as a
milestone for the local market, giving domestic investors access to the world’s largest bitcoin fund without needing to stay awake for the US trading session.
The fund officially celebrated the local listing with a bell-ringing ceremony at ASX headquarters on November 19, following its debut on the boards on November 14.
“We’ve had lots of institutional client conversations in the last six months about gaining cryptocurrency exposure, mainly bitcoin, which is starting to be seen as a potential allocation within a multi-asset portfolio. Its low correlation to the rest of the portfolio is important, as more investors are beginning to view it as a portfolio diversifier,” head of global product solutions for Australia, Stephen Ead, said.
“Globally, we’re starting to see not just adoption by retail, but adoption across the wealth market and across institutions as well.”
BlackRock said the ETF’s listing on the Australian Securities Exchange was six months in the making and marks the firm’s 50th product listed on the ASX.
Bitcoin’s price has fallen nearly 30 per cent from its early October peak around US$126,000, dipping below US$90,000 for the first time in seven months on November 18.
Despite the weakness, BlackRock remains confident in the asset class and says investors continue to see the upside.
“From a multi-asset perspective, it’s around about one, to two per cent of a multi-asset portfolio .. It remains a highly volatile asset class, but the benefit of a local listing in local time zone is that investors can get in, get out very quickly. You don’t need to wait for the US to open.
“It gives that liquidity in local time zone so investors can make that preference to trade in and trade out fairly quickly and play that volatility.”
The ETF provides a cost-effective, ETF-wrapped entry point to bitcoin, removing the complexity of digital wallets while offering local-currency trading, ASX oversight and institutional-grade security.
IBIT carries a management fee of 0.39 per cent and wraps the US-listed iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ: IBIT).
Through its Nasdaq listing, IBIT has become well known in both Australia and the US. The fund is worth about US$70 billion, or more than A$100 billion – and it trades roughly US$3.5 billion each day.
The ETF allows advisers to access cryptocurrency exposure without needing to hold bitcoin directly, with assets stored in segregated cold-storage wallets via Coinbase.
“We’re just increasing the ease of access for local investors – and we’ve received that feedback that local exchange, local currency, local time zone, local regulation, local reporting is really important to those local investors.”
ASX investment products senior business development manager Jacinta King said interest in bitcoin has been “incredible.”
“Throughout the year, we’re speaking to investors, advisors, brokers – there is a genuine interest in this space,” she said.
“When it comes to the intermediaries, like the advisors and brokers, the ASX is still working with the crypto providers. Advisers can’t yet give financial advice in that space but it is still a robust area that investors are interested in and are doing it themselves at this point in time. There’s absolutely growth in the longer term for this.”
The ASX estimates roughly 50 investment products have listed so far in 2025, with more expected before year-end.
“Prior to that, we were averaging 25 – so we have seen a big jump up.”
One of the key drivers, King said, is active managers entering the listed market.
“It’s not that they were laggards – its just that ETFs entered the space first with the likes of BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street and they were the early movements and they served to purpose the type of products that are available for a business at that time,” she said.
BlackRock’s Ead said the firm would consider launching similar products in the future if client demand emerges.
