BlackRock has launched a private trust offering institutional clients in the U.S. direct exposure to bitcoin, the world’s largest asset manager announced in a blog post on Thursday. Earlier, the largest U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase had announced a partnership with BlackRock that will provide common clients access to crypto. The announcement had shot up Coinbase shares significantly. Experts see the partnership with BlackRock as a rescue for the crisis-ridden Coinbase.
The new private Bitcoin trust seeks to track the price of the biggest cryptocurrency and responds to demand from large institutional clients seeking exposure to the asset.
“Despite the steep downturn in the digital asset market, we are still seeing substantial interest from some institutional clients in how to efficiently and cost-effectively access these assets using our technology and product capabilities,” the company said in the post.
Bitcoin is still more than 60% below its all-time high of almost $69,000. However, many investors believe it has found a bottom with stocks, with the two asset classes being more correlated to each other this year than ever before, amid 2022′s slide in risk assets. On Sunday, the digital currency rose above $24,800 to its highest level since just before it fell to its June low.
