Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas revealed on Twitter on September 24 that BlackRock is actively operating a blockchain node and withdraws BTC from the wallet on Coinbase Prime (institutional custody service) every night and sends it to Verify the amount of BTC held by its ETF – IBIT. Balchunas said BlackRock is just not speaking out because they already have enough on-chain contamination.
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ToggleIBIT data is only provided to its own customers to avoid potential risks
Balchunas pointed out that due to the requirements of many institutional clients, BlackRock needs to provide relevant data after IBIT verification and "not disclose it to the public." The reason for this may be that BlackRock's on-chain facilities have received a large amount of on-chain pollution such as "sanctioned BTC and NFT". Once announced to the outside world, more such sanctioned digital assets will be attracted to BlackRock. The Ryder system not only increases the amount of pollution in the chain, but also creates legal risks.
BlackRock remains public guarantee against FTX tragedy
He added that as an industry leader that manages nearly 500 ETFs, BlackRock has never been in this situation and has lasted for decades. And this is why BlackRock and other ETF issuers are highly trusted by many U.S. financial advisors, because these advisors are convinced that their clients will not be deceived like they were by SBF, the founder of FTX.
Through ETFs, investors can allocate Bitcoin in traditional financial markets, improve transparency and security, and build portfolio diversity and risk resistance. If it is true as Eric Balchunas said, BlackRock has joined the ranks of maintaining the Bitcoin network, which will contribute to the decentralization and diversity of Bitcoin nodes.
