Bitcoin and crypto prices have surged this week as traders cheer Donald Trump's decisive U.S. election victory, putting a $100,000 bitcoin price in view.
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The bitcoin price has climbed through 2024 on the back of Trump's embrace of bitcoin as well as expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and China stimulus measures and Wall Street adoption.
Now, as markets brace for a Trump "game-changer," a leak has revealed the world's largest asset manager BlackRock is in discussions to buy a stake in the "king" of spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) holders.
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BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager that's in the middle of a multi-stage plan to digitize Wall Street with crypto and blockchain, is in discussions to buy a small equity stake in $70 billion alternative asset manager Millennium, a hedge fund described as the "king" of bitcoin ETF holders, according to a Financial Times report citing anonymous sources.
Earlier this year, Millennium was revealed to hold nearly $2 billion in spot bitcoin ETFs as of the first quarter of 2024, with almost $2 billion across five spot bitcoin ETFs, led by a near-$800 million stake in BlackRock's IBIT bitcoin fund.
Last month, BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink outlined his plan for bitcoin, ethereum and crypto during BlackRock's third quarter earnings call, predicting bitcoin, ethereum and crypto will "overlay" with artificial intelligence.
"We believe bitcoin is asset class in itself, it is an alternative to other commodities like gold," Fink, who last year led the charge on Wall Street to bring a fully-fledged spot bitcoin ETF to U.S. markets.
The arrival of a fleet of spot bitcoin ETFs on Wall Street this year was the first step in what Fink branded a digital "revolution" when he revealed his crypto ambitions for BlackRock -- which includes a blockchain-based alternative to the U.S. dollar.
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On Thursday, BlackRock's IBIT saw a record net inflows, with $1.1 billion flowing into its bitcoin fund and blowing its previous record, set in late October, of almost $900 million out of the water.
"We expect continued inflows into both exchanges and ETFs, leading to increased market volatility and potential spillover effects into other crypto investment funds," Caroline Bowler, chief executive of BTC Markets, said in emailed comments, pointing to BTC Markets' 300% increase in user logins this week.
"This could drive broader liquidity and trading volume. There is also a significant risk of a feedback loop, where rising ETF inflows push bitcoin prices higher, attracting more capital. Overall, this surge in interest suggests that bitcoin is increasingly viewed as a core investment asset rather than a speculative play, potentially marking the beginning of a sustained period of heightened activity in the crypto market."