BlackRock has received approval from the UK’s top financial markets regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, to operate as a crypto asset firm. 

According to an Apr. 1 report from DL News, the global investment giant managing around $12 trillion in assets will now be able offer its new European Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded product in the UK. With this approval, BlackRock joins companies like Coinbase, PayPal, and Revolut as the 51st company to be registered with the FCA. 

Only 14% of applications have been approved by the FCA, demonstrating its selectiveness. According to the agency, a large number of applications were turned down because of missing or poor-quality information.

The iShares Bitcoin ETP, marketed under the ticker IB1T, started trading last week on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam. It launched with a temporary fee waiver, lowering its expense ratio to 0.15% until the end of 2024. After that, the fee will rise to 0.25%, aligning with CoinShares’ $1.3 billion physical Bitcoin ETP, the largest in Europe. 

With each share backed by real Bitcoin that Coinbase holds in custody, the product gives investors direct exposure to Bitcoin. BlackRock’s action follows the success of its iShares Bitcoin Trust, or IBIT, which is listed in the United States. IBIT has amassed more than $48 billion in assets since its inception, as per data from VettaFi.

IB1T uses a similar structure to give European investors a regulated way to gain exposure to Bitcoin without actually holding the currency. The ETP is issued through a Swiss-based special-purpose vehicle to ensure compliance with European financial regulations. 

The entry of BlackRock into Europe indicates that demand for Bitcoin investment products is rising outside of North America. CEO Larry Fink recently warned that rising U.S. debt could weaken the dollar’s dominance and possibly strengthen Bitcoin’s case as a store of value.

As reported by Crypto.news on Mar 31, Fink pointed out in his annual letter that investors may turn to Bitcoin as a safer option as a result of excessive government expenditure.

Bitcoin is on everyone’s crosshairs once more. The cryptocurrency shot up to $88,500 today, exciting traders who think the price will rise to $95,000 in the near term. But while optimism is high, so is caution. Some analysts are warning that a retreat back to $80,000 may occur before the next major rally starts.

Related Reading

Traders Show Signs Of Greed

Market intelligence platform Santiment reports that greed is building among crypto investors. References of Bitcoin reaching $100,000 or even as high as $159,000 have surged through social media platforms. While hope is generating all the excitement, Santiment reminds that such peaks in greed generally precede an imminent price adjustment.

As crypto has bounced nicely in the second half of March, traders have swung the pendulum back toward mild greed. After showing major fear in late February and early March following two stints of Bitcoin dipping as low as $78K, it appears that this rebound to $88.5K has… pic.twitter.com/WGvmvKSv2X

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) March 25, 2025

Traders had also been holding back earlier in the year when Bitcoin fell to a low of $78,000. But that recent spike back to $88,500 does appear to have changed the general sentiment. Santiment suggests this might be an ideal time for traders to consider taking profits.

Miners Hold Onto Bitcoin Reserves

Bitcoin miners appear to be confident about the future. According to data from CryptoQuant, miners have not been selling much of their Bitcoin recently. In fact, miner reserves now total 1.81 million BTC, which is worth around $159 billion.

Ali Martinez, a crypto analyst, confirmed in a comment on X that no significant selling activity has been recorded among miners over the past 24 hours. This behavior could be a sign that miners are expecting higher prices and prefer to hold onto their earnings for now.

Institutional Interest Grows With ETF Inflows

Institutional investors are also playing a big role in the market’s momentum. On March 25, Bitcoin spot ETFs in the US recorded a total daily inflow of $27 million. BlackRock, one of the largest asset management firms, led the way with $42 million in inflows that day.

Whereas some other funds such as Bitwise and WisdomTree experienced $10 million and $5 million outflows respectively, the robust demand for BlackRock helped in nudging the general trend into positive direction. BlackRock’s net assets in its Bitcoin spot ETF are currently at a little over $50 billion, demonstrating that institutional investors still have a passion for Bitcoin.

Related Reading

Analysts Expect Short-Term Fall Before Rally

Technical analysis is indicating Bitcoin might experience a temporary decline before the next peak. On its 4-hour chart, Bitcoin is having a difficult time surpassing a trendline of resistance, creating what experts refer to as a “double top” formation. The pattern suggests the potential for a price drop towards $85,000.

Meanwhile, the most important support level is at $86,146, according to the 61.80% Fibonacci retracement level. If Bitcoin manages to stay above this level, analysts indicate that the price may rebound and move towards $95,000.

Featured image from Gemini Imagen, chart from TradingView

Solana (SOL) is green on the day on reports that BlackRock is moving its blockchain-based money market fund onto the Ethereum (ETH) competitor’s network.

Fortune reports that the world’s largest asset manager is adding its $1.7 billion BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) to the Solana blockchain.

Solana is trading for $145 at time of writing, up nearly 19% in the last week.

Launched a year ago, BUIDL uses traditional money market funds, which investors use to store cash in the near term and earn yield on it, combined with blockchain payment properties.

Solana is now the seventh blockchain compatible with the tokenized money market fund BUIDL, after its initial launch on Ethereum.

BlackRock’s technology partner, Securitize, says the fund is expected to exceed $2 billion in cash and Treasury bills by early April.

Says Michael Sonnenshein, COO at Securitize,

“We’re making [money market funds] unboring. We are advancing and leapfrogging some of the quote-unquote deficiencies that money markets may have in their traditional formats.”

One benefit BUIDL offers over traditional money market funds is 24/7 trading.

Says Lily Liu, president of the Solana Foundation,

“Our vision for why on-chain finance adds more value is because you can do more things with those assets on chain than you could if [they’re] sitting in your brokerage account.”

BUIDL is part of BlackRock’s long-term digital asset strategy, which includes its spot-Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF).

According to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, the future of finance includes the “tokenization of every financial asset.”

Follow us on X, Facebook and Telegram

Don’t Miss a Beat – Subscribe to get email alerts delivered directly to your inbox

Check Price Action

Surf The Daily Hodl Mix

&nbsp

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

Generated Image: DALLE3