Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, has made its first-ever crypto-related investment, purchasing shares in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to a May 20 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The firm disclosed it had acquired 23,094 shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), valued at approximately $1.08 million as of March 31. The investment was made through Blackstone’s Alternative Multi-Strategy Fund (BTMIX), which holds $2.63 billion in assets, according to Google Finance data.
In addition to the IBIT investment, Blackstone also reported smaller purchases in other crypto-related assets. The filing revealed the firm acquired 9,889 shares of the ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) for $181,166 and 4,300 shares of crypto ATM operator Bitcoin Depot Inc. (BTM) for $6,300.
The total crypto investment—less than $1.3 million—is modest in comparison to Blackstone’s $1.2 trillion portfolio and $37 billion in investable capital as of the end of March.
Historically, Blackstone has distanced itself from cryptocurrencies. In 2019, CEO Steve Schwarzman expressed skepticism toward digital currencies, stating a preference for traditional monetary systems controlled by governments. While he supported blockchain as a concept, he admitted having limited interest in cryptocurrencies due to difficulty understanding the technology.
This move marks a notable shift in Blackstone’s strategy, though the size of the investment suggests a cautious entry into the digital asset market.
Meanwhile, the broader spot Bitcoin ETF market continues to attract significant attention. The state of Wisconsin Investment Board recently liquidated its entire $3.7 billion stake in IBIT. Despite this, BlackRock’s Bitcoin fund has not seen any outflows since April 9, according to Farside Investors, and has attracted over $46.1 billion in net inflows since launching in January 2024.
IBIT leads all spot Bitcoin ETFs in inflows, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC with $11.8 billion and ARK 21Shares’ ARK with $2.8 billion.
