• BlackRock receives FCA approval to operate as a registered crypto asset firm in the UK.
  • Approval may lead to the expansion of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETP in the UK.

BlackRock is now a registered crypto asset firm approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, with permission to allow the world’s largest asset manager to facilitate ETP transaction transfers by means of iShares Digital Assets AG. 

The approval granted by the FCA allows BlackRock to act as an intermediary to iShares Digital Assets AG for crypto-asset transactions pertaining to subscriptions and redemptions of exchange-traded products between the issuers and authorized participants.

Nonetheless, BlackRock cannot actively onboard new clients for this service until authorities issue shipping restrictions. It is also not allowed to set up automated machines for exchanging fiat and crypto.

UK entities intending to register for the FCA crypto register set in 2020 undergo stringent scrutiny to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering rules. The FCA, as the regulator, received a total of 368 submissions, approving just 51 (14% approval). 

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETP

Market commentators speculate that BlackRock may now lodge an application for leading Bitcoin ETP approval with UK authorities. Launched last month for European investors, this product trades on Euronext Paris, Amsterdam, and Germany’s Xetra exchanges, offering regulated exposure to Bitcoin on regular stock exchanges. 

The ETP holds Bitcoin in an offline cold wallet at Coinbase and uses dollars as its denomination. It further introduced a temporary fee waiver of 0.15% expense ratio until the end of 2024. Thereafter, the fee will increase to 0.25%, corresponding with CoinShares’ flagship ETP for Bitcoin in Europe . 

The BlackRock advance into Europe speaks to rising demand for Bitcoin investment products beyond North America. It had similarly launched an iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in the US, which attracted over $48 billion in assets.

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