BlackRock says Bitcoin is a 1-2% sprinkle, not the whole sundae 🍦

BlackRock Investment Institute researchers have concluded that a modest 1-2% allocation to Bitcoin could meaningfully affect portfolio returns without driving day-to-day risk, framing the asset as a "complementary diversifier." Robbie Mitchnick, the firm's Managing Director, attributed Bitcoin's recent underperformance to a broader capital rotation into artificial intelligence, noting that investor interest in gold, precious metals and other non-AI assets has also cooled during the same period. Mitchnick tied the pullback to the sharp decline in Bitcoin's price from its late 2025 highs and to ongoing withdrawals from exchange-traded products tracking the asset.

Cumulative flows into spot crypto ETFs have turned negative as investors pull capital from both $BTC and $ETH products. Mitchnick said the shift away from cryptocurrency is primarily driven by the AI trade and described the current environment as temporary, adding that shifting macroeconomic conditions could alter the picture for Bitcoin. Separately, BlackRock has filed to launch the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA), a covered-call product built on the firm's spot Bitcoin infrastructure. Unlike the company's existing IBIT, which primarily tracks changes in Bitcoin's price, BITA pairs $BTC exposure with a covered-call strategy designed to distribute monthly option premiums to investors.