TL;DR
- Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, disclosed its first-ever cryptocurrency investment by acquiring 23,094 shares of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), valued at approximately $1.08 million.
- The investment was added to Blackstone’s Alternative Multi-Strategy Fund (BTMIX), which manages over $2.6 billion in assets.
- Although modest in size, this move signals a major shift in institutional attitudes toward crypto, particularly from a firm that had previously kept its distance from digital assets.
Blackstone, a titan in global asset management with over $1.2 trillion under management, has officially taken its first step into the crypto space. According to a May 20 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the firm disclosed its purchase of 23,094 shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), a spot Bitcoin ETF. The investment totals around $1.08 million—relatively small in proportion to Blackstone’s massive portfolio, but symbolically powerful as it marks a new chapter of institutional engagement with Bitcoin.
Wall Street’s Changing Stance on Bitcoin
The shares were purchased through Blackstone’s Alternative Multi-Strategy Fund (BTMIX), a fund known for diversifying into unconventional assets. The same filing also revealed that Blackstone acquired 9,889 shares of the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), worth $181,166, and 4,300 shares in Bitcoin Depot Inc., a crypto ATM operator. These additional holdings reflect a broader interest in crypto infrastructure and exposure to Bitcoin-related vehicles.
This marks a notable shift from CEO Stephen Schwarzman’s public stance, who in 2019 expressed doubts about the viability of cryptocurrencies as money, despite his appreciation for blockchain technology. His change of attitude reflects the sentiment of a new era in the institutionalization of Bitcoin as a legitimate asset within investment portfolios.
BlackRock Nears Satoshi’s Bitcoin Holdings
Since its debut in January 2024, BlackRock’s IBIT has attracted over $46 billion in net inflows and has not recorded a single day of outflows since early April. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas recently pointed out that BlackRock is now the second-largest holder of Bitcoin globally, trailing only the mysterious founder Satoshi Nakamoto. If Bitcoin reaches $150,000, as some predict, it could unleash a wave of demand from financial advisors, pushing BlackRock’s holdings past Satoshi’s stash.
While state funds like Wisconsin have already cashed out and players like Fidelity and ARK continue drawing capital, the entrance of institutional behemoths like Blackstone signals far more than a passing interest. It’s a strong vote of confidence in Bitcoin’s role as an emerging asset class, one that is steadily making its way into the upper echelons of global finance.
