Free Newsletter Get the hottest Fintech Switzerland News once a month in your Inbox Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become BlackRock’s most profitable product line, a development that came as “a big surprise” to the company, Cristiano Castro, director of business development at BlackRock Brazil, tod local media.At the Blockchain Conference in Sao Paulo, Castro told reporters on the sidelines of the event on November 28, that the performance had surpassed the firm’s expectations.“We were very o ...

Core Insights - The adoption of ETFs by Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) continued to grow in the third quarter of 2025, with a notable increase in the number of new funds added to portfolios [1][2] Group 1: ETF Adoption Trends - Almost 59% of RIAs added new ETFs to their portfolios in Q3 2025, an increase from 57.8% in the previous quarter, while only 18.6% reduced their ETF counts [2] - The average number of ETFs held by RIAs rose to 72.7, up from 69.9 in the prior quarter [2] - Advisors added an average of 17.54% more ETFs compared to previous holdings, while withdrawing from an average of 7.74% of funds [3] Group 2: Investment Themes - RIAs increasingly focused on investment themes aligned with secular trends, such as AI, defense technologies, industrial reshoring, and precious metals [4] - There was a noticeable shift towards digital assets, with RIAs expanding their investments from primarily Bitcoin ETFs to include Ethereum funds [4] Group 3: Growth of Ethereum ETFs - iShares' Ethereum ETF (ETHA) and Fidelity's Ethereum ETF (FETH) were the fastest-growing funds among RIAs in Q3 2025, with RIAs invested in ETHA increasing by 112.43% to 376 and those in FETH rising by 85.25% to 113 [5] Group 4: Issuer Dynamics - Fundstrat emerged as the fastest-growing ETF issuer among RIAs, with a 56% increase in RIA subscribers to 170 [6] - Other notable issuers included First Eagle Investments, which saw a 35.7% increase in subscribers, NEOS Investment Management with a 19.52% increase, and CoinShares with a 14.29% increase [6]

Core Insights - The financial industry is entering the era of asset tokenization, as stated by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink during an interview [1] - BlackRock's iBIT Bitcoin ETF has surpassed $100 billion in assets, with total digital holdings reaching $107.4 billion [1] Group 1: Tokenization Strategy - BlackRock aims to access $4.1 trillion held in digital wallets globally by digitizing traditional financial products, referring to this as "repotting" assets into digital formats [2] - The firm has already initiated this strategy with a tokenized money market fund and an expanding digital asset platform [2] Group 2: ETF Flows and Market Dynamics - Recent institutional fund movements show volatility, with Ethereum ETFs experiencing $428.5 million in net outflows on October 13, including $19.1 million from BlackRock's ETHA fund [3] - On October 10, Ethereum ETFs had $174.9 million in aggregate outflows, with BlackRock's ETHA leading with an $80 million withdrawal, coinciding with increased on-chain Ethereum staking deposits [4] Group 3: Digital Asset Management - BlackRock manages $17.25 billion across its digital asset ETFs, primarily utilizing Coinbase Prime for custody operations, with significant withdrawals and deposits logged since March 2024 [5] - The firm's push for tokenization aligns with broader institutional adoption, including trading platforms enabling 24/7 access to tokenized securities [5] Group 4: Bitcoin Market Status - Bitcoin is trading at $113,242, maintaining support above $110,217 despite short-term bearish pressure, with immediate resistance at $114,716 [6] - The cryptocurrency's price is 74% above the 200-week moving average, indicating underlying strength in the long-term trend [6]

Group 1 - BlackRock's Ethereum ETF (ETHA) experienced its largest inflows in a month, attracting 80,768 ETH (approximately $363 million) on September 15, marking a significant turning point for the cryptocurrency [1] - Prior to this surge, ETHA faced a challenging period with $787 million in outflows from September 5 to 12, contributing to a broader weakness in the crypto market [2] - In the week following the outflows, Ethereum spot funds recorded $638 million in net inflows, with Fidelity's FETH leading at $381 million, while BlackRock's ETHA added $165 million [2] Group 2 - As of September 12, Ethereum ETFs collectively managed $30.35 billion in assets, with BlackRock controlling over half at $17.25 billion, representing roughly 3% of Ethereum's market capitalization [3] - BlackRock has been rotating its exposure between Ethereum and Bitcoin, with its Bitcoin trust attracting $366 million in inflows earlier in the month while ETHA briefly saw outflows [3] Group 3 - Standard Chartered's head of digital assets research, Geoffrey Kendrick, indicated that Ethereum may emerge stronger than Bitcoin and Solana due to its staking yield and established treasury ecosystem [4] - Ethereum digital asset treasuries (DATs) currently hold more than 3.1% of the total ETH supply, with firms like BitMine Immersion continuing to accumulate aggressively [5] Group 4 - Crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe suggested that Ethereum is likely to experience increased volatility, with potential corrective dips and upside acceleration [6] - If Ethereum fails to maintain support, prices could drop below the $4,100 mark, while a recovery above resistance zones around $4,400–$4,600 could lead to renewed momentum [7] - Analysts see potential for Ethereum to climb back toward the $5,000–$5,200 range if it sustains institutional inflows and capitalizes on treasury adoption [7]