According to Fixygen, the cryptocurrency market continues to decline following a rough week. Bitcoin has once again fallen below the psychological threshold of $80,000, while Ethereum remains under pressure from investors.
According to CoinPaprika as of 11:00–11:30 UTC:
Bitcoin (BTC) — approximately $79,750, down 0.7% over the past 24 hours.
Ethereum (ETH) — approximately $2,318, down 0.5%.
Solana (SOL) — approximately $100.
The total market capitalization of the crypto market is approximately $2.8 trillion.
During the week of October 19–23, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $301.2 million, while investors withdrew $220.7 million from Ethereum-focused funds.
However, the trend proved to be extremely volatile: on October 22 alone, outflows from Bitcoin ETFs reached $635.6 million.
On October 26, U.S. Bitcoin ETFs again saw $110.3 million in net inflows, with the entire amount coming from BlackRock’s IBIT fund. At the same time, investors withdrew another $88.6 million from Ethereum ETFs.
Thus, large investors remain interested in Bitcoin, but a sustained recovery in demand for cryptocurrencies has not yet been observed.
The main event in the coming days is the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting on October 27–28.
The Fed’s decisions on interest rates and statements regarding future monetary policy could significantly impact digital asset prices.
A rate cut or softer rhetoric from the regulator could support demand for risky investments. Conversely, hawkish signals from the Fed could intensify pressure on cryptocurrencies.
The key price benchmark remains the $80,000 level per Bitcoin. A return above this level could signal market stabilization, while a prolonged decline would increase the risk of a further correction.
At the same time, the cryptocurrency industry continues to evolve: BlackRock is preparing a new investment fund with partial protection against a Bitcoin decline, and major banks are expanding the use of digital assets in payment systems.
The market is simultaneously undergoing a price correction and a new phase in the development of institutional infrastructure.
According to Fixygen, the American investment firm BlackRock has filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to register a new exchange-traded fund, the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protection ETF, which will allow investors to profit from Bitcoin’s price appreciation while partially limiting the risk of losses.
According to the fund’s preliminary prospectus published on the SEC’s website, the new instrument is planned to be listed on the exchange under the ticker symbol PBIT. Its strategy involves participating in the appreciation of the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT)—BlackRock’s flagship Bitcoin fund—or other Bitcoin-related instruments, while simultaneously limiting potential losses.
Unlike a traditional spot Bitcoin ETF, which directly holds the cryptocurrency, the new fund will not purchase Bitcoin or shares of other cryptocurrency exchange-traded products. Instead, it intends to use a combination of options and fixed-income instruments.
The investment strategy will be based on call options, which generate returns when the underlying asset’s value rises. BlackRock plans to simultaneously buy and sell such options, creating what are known as option spreads.
This structure helps limit potential losses if the price of Bitcoin falls, but at the same time sets an upper limit on returns in the event of a significant rise in the cryptocurrency’s price.
According to preliminary documentation, BlackRock intends to create three overlapping option portfolios with different start dates. Typically, one of the portfolios will expire each month, and a new one will be formed to replace it.
For each such portfolio, an initial protection level is provided, under which potential losses from changes in the value of the underlying asset are approximately limited to 10% at the time of option purchase, excluding commissions and expenses.
At the same time, the company emphasizes that this does not constitute a guaranteed capital protection at the fund level. The level of potential losses may vary depending on market conditions, the timing of unit purchases, and the terms of the option contracts.
The fund plans to allocate the remaining portion of its assets to cash, money market instruments, short-term government bonds, and other investment-grade debt securities.
The interest income generated is expected to be used to partially cover the costs of option strategies and mitigate potential investment losses.
BlackRock warns that the new product is not designed to completely eliminate the risks associated with Bitcoin. Given the sharp volatility of the cryptocurrency market, investors may lose some or all of their invested capital.
A key difference between the new fund and a conventional Bitcoin ETF lies in the nature of its returns. Holders of spot funds receive returns directly linked to the cryptocurrency’s price movements, net of expenses. Investors in the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protection ETF will participate in the growth of the underlying asset only to the extent determined by the options strategy.
Thus, in the event of a significant rise in Bitcoin’s price, the new fund’s returns may turn out to be significantly lower than the cryptocurrency’s own performance. At the same time, the strategy is designed to mitigate the effects of a market downturn.
The proposed product will expand BlackRock’s lineup of cryptocurrency investment instruments, which in January 2024 launched the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, a spot fund, under the ticker IBIT.
In June 2026, the company also introduced the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, designed to generate income from option premiums.
The new strategy differs from both of these instruments in that it combines limited exposure to Bitcoin’s price appreciation with a mechanism that provides partial protection against price declines.
The development of such products reflects the expansion of the institutional cryptocurrency investment market. Asset management firms offer investors not only direct exposure to digital assets through exchange-traded funds but also instruments with various combinations of return and risk.
For institutional investors, investment advisors, and holders of diversified portfolios, such products may be of interest as an alternative to direct ownership of cryptocurrency.
At the same time, protection mechanisms entail additional costs and limitations on returns, so their economic efficiency depends on market conditions.
According to the registration documents, BlackRock expects the application to take effect 75 days after its submission. However, the preliminary prospectus contains blank fields, particularly regarding the fund’s management fee.
Registration does not yet constitute approval to sell shares. The SEC has not approved the new investment product, and the final launch date has not yet been announced.
BlackRock is one of the world’s largest asset management companies. Through its iShares platform, the group offers a wide range of exchange-traded funds, including products based on stocks, bonds, commodities, and digital assets.
On July 7, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, met with Adebayo Ogunlesi, a member of the board of directors and senior managing director of “BlackRock.”
They discussed current issues related to further strengthening the strategic partnership, particularly in the fuel and energy sector. Progress on the company’s ongoing projects in Uzbekistan was noted with satisfaction.
The President outlined the priorities for cooperation with BlackRock. These include, in particular, expanding the partnership in the area of privatization, enhancing the country’s investment attractiveness, developing the financial market, promoting projects in the petrochemical sector, and joint investments in artificial intelligence technologies.
“BlackRock” is a major investment firm specializing in asset and fund management, as well as the provision of financial services. In 2026, the company’s assets under management reached 14 trillion U.S. dollars.
Insurers in 2024 will focus on increasing investment in private markets, clean energy infrastructure and innovative technologies. According to the Reinsurance News website, this is according to the 13th annual Global Insurance Report by asset management company BlackRock.
For the third consecutive year, the report found that the majority of insurers plan to increase private market allocations, with 91% of respondents indicating they will do so in the next two years.
That figure reaches 96% for insurers in Asia Pacific and North America. The report is based on information from 410 insurance investors in 32 markets managing approximately $27 trillion in assets.
“With 2024 expected to be a landmark election year, insurers are increasingly concerned about how political uncertainty could impact macroeconomic risks, citing regulatory changes (68%) and rising geopolitical tensions and fragmentation (61%) as top concerns,” the report notes.
In addition, market risks such as interest rate volatility (69%) and liquidity problems (52%) were identified as critical.
Despite these challenges, 74% of insurers have no plans to change their current risk profiles. Many insurers cited the value of partnerships in improving their internal expertise for risk assessment and portfolio management, with 40% of respondents emphasizing that an investment partner that understands both their insurance business and operating model is critical to achieving their strategic goals.
In the public markets, 42% of insurers plan to increase investments in government and agency bonds, while 33% focus on inflation-linked bonds, as 46% view inflation as a significant macroeconomic risk. In addition, 44% of insurers are looking to increase their holdings in cash and short-term instruments to maintain liquidity.
BLACKROCK, clean energy, INNOVATION, INSURERS, INVESTMENT, private markets
BlackRock Inc. one of the world’s largest investment firms, increased its net income in the second quarter of 2023 by 27%, but its revenue fell 1%.
According to the company’s press release, its net income for the April-June period totaled $1.37 billion, up from $1.08 billion in the same period a year earlier. Earnings per share rose to $9.06 from $7.06 a year earlier.
Earnings excluding one-time factors came in at $9.28 per share, topping Wall Street analysts’ consensus forecast of $8.52 per share.
BlackRock’s quarterly revenue decreased to $4.46 billion from $4.53 billion, with experts on average forecasting the figure to be $4.47 billion.
The volume of assets under management of BlackRock Inc. increased by 11% to $9.43 trillion.
Net inflow of investors’ funds into BlackRock funds in April-June amounted to $80.162 billion against $89.573 billion a year earlier, being significantly worse than the average market forecast ($109 billion).
BlackRock shares are losing 0.7% in price in pre-market trading on Friday. Since the beginning of this year their value has grown by 4.4%.
BlackRock Investment Company has completed the first stage of the conceptual and design phase of the future Ukraine Development Fund (UDF) and presented it at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2023) in London.
“We are now moving on to the second stage, which will be very important in terms of regulatory details, rules: how is it organized? how is it regulated? what kind of people will manage the fund? how to ensure good governance at the supervisory level?” – said Philipp Hildebrand, Vice Chairman of BlackRock, at the conference.
According to him, other important issues include the creation of a due diligence mechanism to process the flow of transactions and ensure that there is a sufficient flow of transactions to invest capital after it is attracted to the fund.
Speaking about the possible volume of private investments, Hildebrand mentioned the amount of $50 billion to $60 billion.
“We would like to start with concessional capital, maybe a couple of billion,” he said.
The BlackRock representative noted that these funds could be used to make the first few deals that would prove the concept, show real investment flows, and on their basis it would be possible to scale up the work.
According to him, attracting such concessional capital will reduce risks, which is necessary to mobilize large pools of investment. In addition to the flow of projects, impeccable management is also needed, Hildebrand added.
He said that the first pledge to contribute to the fund during URC2023 was made by Andrew Forrest, an Australian businessman, chairman of the investment company Tattarang and Fortescue Metals.
The BlackRock vice chairman expressed hope that in 20 years, the UDF will be as important an institution as Temasek in Singapore.
“But we need to start with realistic numbers and start with an actual proof of concept by identifying actual investments,” he reiterated.
Hildebrand emphasized that some kind of peace perspective is also needed. “If you want to mobilize private capital on this scale, there has to be a prospect,” the investment banker explained.
He clarified that BlackRock is doing this work on a pro bono basis, advising the government, and expressed a wish that European financial institutions would participate in the project in the future.
Giovanni Salvetti, Managing Director of Rothschild & Co Middle East Limited, also emphasized the importance of several pilot successful deals that could make the front page of the Financial Times, serve as an example and a better incentive for other investors than various conferences.
“Courage is contagious. Not only in defense of the homeland, but also in business,” said the investment banker.
According to him, he is currently working on three possible deals worth more than $100 million with investors who are ready to consider investing in real assets in Ukraine until the war is over, but they also want to have a long-term perspective. In this regard, the emergence of instruments to insure investments against military risks is very important, Salvetti added.
In general, he said that over the past 15 years, Rothschild & Co. has been involved in 80% of deals in Ukraine worth $53 billion, so the company has access to information about what investors want and what they are looking for.
According to the investment banker, he sees three types of investors looking at Ukraine at the moment. First, super-speculative investors who invest in Eurobonds and want to double their money in a year.
“These people don’t need anything you are preparing, they have already invested hundreds of millions of dollars five days after the war started. And they’ve doubled, tripled their money as we speak,” Salvetti said, noting that such investments bring nothing to the domestic market.
He called the second category of investors not so speculative, but brave investors who are ready to invest until the war is over and have not yet decided, while the third category is basic investors. According to a representative of Rothschild & Co, it will be quite difficult to attract the third category today, because they need security, macroeconomic prospects and very firm legal norms.
“Therefore, I think we should focus on the one (category of investors) that can already take risks,” Salvetti summarized.
