Bitcoin ETF With a Yield? BlackRock’s BITA Is Almost Ready to Trade

TLDR

• BlackRock filed a Form 8-A with the SEC for its iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, ticker BITA
• Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas says the filing typically means a launch within one week
• The fund will sell call options on BlackRock’s existing spot bitcoin ETF, IBIT, to generate yield
• The sponsor fee is set at 0.65%, lower than competing covered-call bitcoin ETFs
• Goldman Sachs has a similar fund in the works, expected to launch around July 1

BlackRock has filed a Form 8-A with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF. The filing registers the fund’s shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker BITA.

A Form 8-A is a registration statement used to list securities under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It is one of the final steps before a fund begins trading.

The filing comes days after BlackRock submitted its fourth amended S-1 registration. That update confirmed a 0.65% sponsor fee, which is lower than other covered-call bitcoin ETFs currently on the market.

How the Fund Works

Unlike a standard spot bitcoin ETF, BITA is actively managed. The fund is designed to give investors bitcoin exposure while also generating income.

It does this by selling call options, mainly on BlackRock’s existing spot bitcoin ETF, IBIT. Option premiums collected from those sales are passed on to investors as yield.

The trust’s net assets at the time of the last filing stood at around $9.99 million, or $49.97 per share. BlackRock Financial Management seeded the fund with $9.9 million across 198,000 shares priced at $50 each.

Jane Street Capital and Virtu Financial Singapore are named as bitcoin trading counterparties. As of June 9, the trust had already purchased 109.96 bitcoin, 90,901 IBIT shares, and written 856 option contracts.

Goldman Sachs Is Also in the Race

BlackRock is not alone in this space. Goldman Sachs filed for its own bitcoin premium income ETF in April.

Balchunas previously said Goldman’s fund is expected to launch around July 1. That would put the two products in the market within weeks of each other.

Both funds aim to attract investors looking for bitcoin exposure with added income potential. The structure is a newer approach in the crypto ETF market, combining options strategies with spot bitcoin holdings.

BlackRock’s IBIT is already the largest spot bitcoin ETF by assets. BITA would expand the firm’s bitcoin product lineup with a yield-focused option.

The SEC has not made a formal announcement, but the 8-A filing is widely seen as a sign that approval is close. If Balchunas is right, BITA could begin trading as early as next Thursday.

The bitcoin ETF market continues to attract major financial institutions looking to offer new products to investors.

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