A current filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that BlackRock Inc has expanded a variety of its Bitcoin futures contracts since Q1 2021.
On Tuesday, September 28, a filing to the SEC indicates that BlackRock investment management firm has made $369,137 on Bitcoin futures since July.
According to the filing, Blackrock Global allocation fund held 54 Bitcoin CME futures contracts that expired on August 27, and the contracts made $369,137 for the New York-based investment company.
BlackRock Global Allocation fund bought 54 Bitcoin futures contracts issued through the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) on July 31. The contracts expired on August 27 and were worth $10.8 million, appreciated by $369,137.
The gains from the Bitcoin futures represents about 0.00138% of the Blackrock Global allocation fund or 8.91 BTC at the time of writing.
BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, with over $9.5 trillion in total assets under management.
In January, Blackrock filed prospect documents with the SEC signalling its potential to invest in Bitcoin futures. The documents showed two specific funds (the BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio and the BlackRock Global Allocation fund) to participate in the trading of Bitcoin futures.
In April, BlackRock has made $360,000 on Bitcoin futures since January. The SEC filing showed BlackRock’s Global Allocation Fund held 37 Bitcoin CME futures contracts that expired at the end of March.
Demand Dips for Bitcoin Futures
This time, BlackRock’s profit from Bitcoin futures comes when demand for such products has declined, which is a setback for Bitcoin.
An investor note by JP Morgan investment bank last week showed that major investors are now looking for Ethereum futures instead of Bitcoin futures.
JP Morgan attributed that the happening to weak demand for bitcoin future’s by institutional investors.
JP Morgan stated in its investor note that the interest in Ethereum futures indicates much a higher demand than for Bitcoin futures by institutional investors – big firms such a hedge funds with a massive pile of cash to play.
The note reported that Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) traded below the price of Bitcoin this month.
When there is high demand for Bitcoin, futures tend to trade higher than the actual cryptocurrency. But it has not been the case in September, according to CME data.
Instead, investors have been eyeing up Ethereum futures since August, and the 21-day average Ethereum futures premium rose 1% more than the price of the cryptocurrency, JP Morgan stated.
But despite such interest in futures, both cryptocurrencies are struggling. Bitcoin is currently trading at $42,229.95, while Ethereum price standing at $2,910.23.
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