Bitcoin mining company MARA just bought 10,000 BTC for $66.7 million, while BlackRock launched the covered call ETF BITA on the same day.

Looking at these two events together, institutional funding is diverging: on one side, miners are directly accumulating coins with cash flow, betting on spot appreciation; on the other side, Wall Street is packaging strategies with options, earning volatility premiums rather than directional gains.
MARA’s increased holdings are not an isolated case. Previously, BitMine’s holdings approached $10 billion, and miners have continued accumulating during the bear market. But BlackRock’s BITA strategy is more worth examining — it holds Bitcoin while selling call options, targeting an annualized return of 15-25%, allowing investors to enjoy at least 70% of the upside.
This means traditional funds are beginning to accept Bitcoin as an underlying asset, but prefer to manage tail risk with structured products.
Behind this divergence is a difference in the nature of the funds. Miner purchases are balance sheet actions, deeply tied to price cycles; while products like BITA target yield-seeking fixed income funds, which have an indirect and limited exposure to Bitcoin.
When both types of funds flow into the market simultaneously, the liquidity structure becomes more complex: spot buying comes from miners and long-term holders, while derivatives are hedged by options strategies, reducing some upside elasticity.
The risk is that the covered call strategy of BITA may underperform spot during a one-sided market rally, and while it can buffer losses with option premiums during declines, it cannot fully hedge against principal loss.
If Bitcoin enters a deep bear market, redemption pressures on these products could actually accelerate selling.
Leverage risk for miners is also not negligible — MARA’s increased holdings are funded by FalconX, and if the coin price falls below their cost basis, collateral liquidation could create a negative feedback loop.
The way institutional entry is becoming more refined, but the transparency of capital flows is actually decreasing.
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