Brazil welcomes BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF with March trading start

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has announced the launch of its iShares spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) Brazilian Depositary Receipt (BDR) in Brazil, with trading set to begin on March 1. This initiative, in partnership with B3, Brazil’s financial market infrastructure provider, marks the introduction of a novel product designed to provide Brazilian investors with access to Bitcoin investments through a regulated security.

Karina Saade, the president of BlackRock Brazil, recently made an announcement at the company’s headquarters in São Paulo about the launch of the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF BDR, IBIT39. According to her, this new development is a significant advancement in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) as it provides investors with access to Bitcoin through a security – the ETF BDR – that can be incorporated into their portfolios. This move is expected to open new investment opportunities for investors and bring further innovation to the ETF market.

About iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF

The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF BDR, named IBIT39, is crafted to offer investors the opportunity to include Bitcoin in their investment portfolios as a security. In addition, this product represents an international extension of the BTC ETF that BlackRock launched in the United States in January, aiming to replicate the performance of the U.S. ETF. It features an administrative fee of 0.25%, with a one-year fee waiver on the first $5 billion of assets under management.

Eligibility for investment in this Brazilian ETF is initially restricted to investors who have at least 1 million reals ($201,000) invested in the market, with future plans to open sales to the retail market pending regulatory approval. The product is fully taxable and adds to the existing suite of 13 ETFs with crypto exposure already listed on B3, which have a combined value of 2.5 billion reals ($503 million).

The launch of IBIT39 follows the approval of BlackRock’s spot BTC ETF by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 10, which saw a rapid growth in assets under management, reaching $2 billion within two weeks. This success mirrored that of Fidelity’s spot BTC fund, both achieving record debut months in ETF history. Following this launch, BlackRock has expressed consideration for a spot Ethereum ETF in Brazil, contingent upon receiving SEC approval in the United States.