BlackRock Files Likely-Final Amendment for Yield-Generating Bitcoin ETF With 65bps Fee, Launch Expected Soon - Unchained

BlackRock filed what Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas described as a likely-final amendment for its iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, the asset manager disclosed in an amended Form S-1 submitted to the SEC on Wednesday. The fund is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker BITA.

The ETF is structured as a Delaware statutory trust holding a mix of spot Bitcoin, shares of BlackRock’s flagship iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), and cash. Its core strategy is a covered-call approach: the fund writes monthly call options primarily on IBIT shares while tracking Bitcoin’s price, collecting the option premiums and distributing them to investors as regular income. The structure is designed for an investor profile that prioritizes yield over pure price appreciation, a departure from the spot exposure of existing Bitcoin ETFs.

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The filing disclosed the fund’s fee for the first time, setting it at 65 basis points of net assets. Balchunas noted that the fee is higher than BlackRock’s spot IBIT but lower than the two largest Bitcoin covered-call ETFs currently on the market, which charge 95 and 99 basis points. He characterized the amendment as “probably [a] final” one and said he expects the fund to launch soon.

The timing reflects a competitive race. Balchunas said BlackRock is under pressure to beat Goldman Sachs to market, noting that Goldman’s competing premium-income product is expected to be effective around July 1. “Game on,” he wrote. Goldman filed a preliminary prospectus for its own Bitcoin Premium Income ETF in April, using a similar covered-call structure that sells options on 25% to 75% of the portfolio.

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