BlackRock launches new ETF on CBOE Canada

BlackRock will offer a Bitcoin ETF for the Canadian market through its subsidiary BlackRock Asset Management Canada Ltd. The new iShares product will trade through CBOE Canada. 

BlackRock is expanding the offering for its iShares Bitcoin-based ETF. This time, BlackRock Asset Management Canada, Ltd. will offer a new version of the product through CBOE Canada. Since 2015, the market operator has been the Tier 1 stock resource for top issuers. Years after Canada became one of the most crypto-friendly markets, the market operator finally added a crypto-derived asset. 

The iShares Bitcoin ETF, which became the biggest crypto-derived product on the market, trades on CBOE Canada under the symbol IBIT, while US dollar-denominated products trade as IBIT.U.

For the Canadian market, the product is known as ‘The iShares Fund’, which will track the performance of the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). The CBOE-traded iShares Fund will invest all its assets into the existing Bitcoin trust, meaning all buyers will gain access to BTC coins in the wallets of Coinbase Custody.

‘The launch of the iShares Bitcoin ETF in Canada underscores BlackRock’s commitment to innovation and providing clients access to an expanding world of investments. The iShares Fund provides Canadian investors with a convenient and cost-effective way to gain exposure to Bitcoin,’ said Helen Hayes, Head of iShares Canada, BlackRock.

The expansion to a new market arrives just as the original batch of ETFs completed their first and dramatically successful year. The ETF buying, along with the series of purchases by MicroStrategy and MARA Digital, boosted mainstream adoption.

CBOE already trades several BlackRock products based on traditional markets. The exchange is home to ETFs from Canada’s biggest issuers, including those based on Canadian Depositary Receipts, as well as Canadian and global companies. CBOE carries 15% of all securities volume from listings in Canada. 

The new BTC-based products can trade in their exchange-listed units through the usual CBOE investor channels, such as discount brokerage platforms and full-service dealers. CBOE has fulfilled the demand for crypto exposure through exchange-listed wrappers, explained Rob Marrocco, Global Head of ETF Listings at CBOE. 

New product arrives after outflow from BlackRock buyers

The listing of the new CBOE product may translate into a new source of BTC buyers through BlackRock’s ETF. The market operator also powers ETF Market Canada, a user-oriented platform for investors and advisors with one-stop access to ETF data and analysis. The educational and analysis platform combines 1,200 Canadian ETFs, tapping the trend of newer cohorts of investors that prefer to perform their own research and carefully select their exposure to products.

BlackRock’s buying behaviour has been closely watched, as the iShares Trust was a net buyer for most of 2024. Any slowdown or selling from BlackRock is seen as a sign of shifting market sentiment. 

In the past 30 days, BlackRock was still a net buyer, though the seven days of selling added to the negative market sentiment. As of January 13, BlackRock made deposits to Coinbase Custody, which coincides with investors selling. ETF users may have different patterns of buying and selling compared to crypto insiders, though the ETF flows are closely watched for signs of market optimism. 

The announcement for the new product also comes on a day when BTC dipped under $90,000 while still seeking reassurance that the bullish trend is intact. BTC briefly dipped to $89,800 before recovering above $91,715.44 on signs of renewed buying. BTC sees news of renewed large-scale buying as the major driver for the ongoing 2025 rally. 

The buying from ETFs raises the possibility that there will not be enough BTC for all investors, given the scale of the traditional market. All ETFs drew in more than $36B into BTC, surpassing the demand for gold-based products. ETFs helped produce one of the new cohorts of long-term holders, as BlackRock holds more than 557.57K BTC.

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