Asset management leader BlackRock has filed to establish a Delaware trust company for its Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, marking its intention to expand its Bitcoin offerings.
According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted, BlackRock’s planned product would engage in selling covered call options on Bitcoin futures, gathering premiums to produce yield.
However, this regular income would trade off some potential gains from investing in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, which tracks Bitcoin’s (BTC) price fluctuations.
“This represents a covered call Bitcoin strategy designed to yield some income on BTC. This will be a ’33 Act spot product, following the $87b $IBIT.”
Registering a trust in Delaware often indicates that an ETF issuer will soon file an S-1 registration statement or a 19b-4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission to formally initiate the process.
U.S. regulators—especially the SEC—have indicated a willingness to consider a broader array of crypto investment products, inline with President Donald Trump’s commitment to making America the “crypto capital of the world.”
The new BlackRock product aims to enhance its iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), which has garnered over $60.7 billion in inflows since its launch in January 2024—making it the largest of its kind, with the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) following at $12.3 billion.
Bitcoin yield products are gradually emerging
Initially, many traditional finance investment firms overlooked Bitcoin due to its lack of native yield-generating characteristics.
However, innovative solutions have emerged, such as Strategy’s convertible preferred stock offering, STRK, which utilizes its 639,835 Bitcoin to provide investors with consistent income.
Related: Bitcoin upgrade is creating divisions among developers and purists
If approved, BlackRock’s proposed product would contribute to the limited selection of yield-generating Bitcoin offerings in the U.S.
BlackRock will avoid the altcoin ETF trend, analyst remarks
Balchunas stated that, with numerous other coins “on the verge of being ETF-ized,” the filing indicates BlackRock is focusing on Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) while “steering clear of the rest, at least for the moment.”
“This broadens the competition for these other coins significantly,” he remarked.
Potential approvals could also accelerate, as the SEC last week confirmed a generic listing standard that wouldn’t necessitate assessing each application separately.
Among the cryptocurrencies most likely to be converted into ETF form next are Litecoin (LTC), Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), and Dogecoin (DOGE).
Magazine: ‘Help! My robot vac is stealing my Bitcoin’: When smart devices attack
