World’s Largest Alternative Asset Manager Discloses Modest Stake In BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF In First-Ever Crypto Bet

Blackstone, which considers itself to be the “world’s largest alternative asset manager,” has dipped its toes into crypto, purchasing shares in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

According to a May 20 filing, Blackstone bought just around $1.08 million worth of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), despite boasting approximately $1.2 trillion in assets under management.

Blackstone reported holding 23,094 shares of IBIT at the end of the fiscal quarter ending March 31. The IBIT shares were added to Blackstone’s Alternative Multi-Strategy Fund (BTMIX), which holds $2.63 billion worth of assets, as per Google Finance data. This is the first time the asset manager has disclosed investing in anything crypto-related.

Despite IBIT’s outstanding performance, it appears that Blackstone is not yet ready to commit substantial capital to investing in the apex crypto.

It’s worth mentioning that Blackstone has largely steered clear of crypto. Back in September 2019, Blackstone co-founder and CEO Stephen Schwarzman said he liked the blockchain technology but thought its use for money was “pretty odd.”

“[I was] raised in a world where someone needs to control currencies,” he noted at the time.

Schwarzman further admitted he wasn’t much of a fan of Bitcoin, citing difficulties understanding the technology.

BlackRock On Track To Overtake Satoshi’s Bitcoin Stash

BlackRock’s IBIT has drawn in a net inflow of over $46 billion since it went live on Wall Street in January 2024, signaling institutions’ persistent confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term prospects.

Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted in a recent post on X that BlackRock is now the second-biggest Bitcoin holder globally, trailing only the mysterious BTC inventor Satoshi Nakamoto. Balchunas believes the asset manager is poised to surpass Satoshi’s holdings by next summer.

The pundit reckons that if the Bitcoin price climbs to $150,000 in the coming months, it could spark a “feeding frenzy” among financial advisors, which would help BlackRock attain this milestone even more quickly.