- BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust now holds 746,288 BTC, making it the largest known corporate holder of the cryptocurrency.
- This amount surpasses the known bitcoin reserves of major exchanges Coinbase and Binance, highlighting a shift in ownership.
The investment management firm BlackRock now controls more bitcoin than the largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) holds 746,288 BTC, valued at approximately $84 billion. This amount positions the firm as the largest known corporate holder of the digital asset.
It is important to note that these coins are not owned directly by BlackRock. Instead, they back the shares of its IBIT exchange-traded fund. The physical bitcoin is held in custody by the exchange Coinbase. This structure is standard for U.S.-based spot bitcoin ETFs.
With these holdings, BlackRock’s IBIT has surpassed the known bitcoin reserves of Coinbase and Binance. Coinbase custody holds 703,110 BTC for its clients and its own balance sheet. Binance’s known wallets contain 608,639 BTC. The only entity believed to hold more bitcoin is the network’s creator, known as Satoshi Nakamoto, with an estimated 1.123 million BTC.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), managed by BlackRock, continues to stand as the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by assets under management, closely tracking the price of Bitcoin (BTC), which is currently trading at $116,883 USD.
IBIT’s performance mirrors Bitcoin’s 3.9% daily increase, reflecting renewed bullish momentum following Federal Reserve signals of a potential September rate cut, which triggered significant inflows across digital asset markets.
The latest updates on IBIT highlight mixed institutional flows. While Bitcoin ETFs recorded $1 billion in outflows over the past five days, IBIT remains the dominant vehicle for U.S. institutional exposure to Bitcoin, absorbing the majority of assets reallocated from competing ETFs.
ETHNews analysts emphasize that IBIT’s liquidity, tight spreads, and BlackRock’s brand trust make it the preferred choice for pension funds, hedge funds, and wealth managers seeking BTC exposure.
From a financial ecosystem perspective, IBIT’s role extends beyond passive tracking. It has become a benchmark instrument for Bitcoin derivatives pricing, with CME futures and options increasingly tied to IBIT’s flows. The ETF’s performance also influences equities with crypto exposure, such as Coinbase and Marathon Digital, which rallied on Powell’s comments.
