BlackRock drops 3% Bitcoin sprinkle into new Canadian ETF, because portfolios deserve a little crypto seasoning 🧂

BlackRock Canada launched two exchange-traded funds on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday, including a portfolio that allocates 3% of its holdings to Bitcoin. The iShares Equity + Bitcoin ETF Portfolio, trading under the ticker IBQT, invests 97% of its portfolio in Canadian, U.S., international and emerging-market equities and 3% in Bitcoin exposure via BlackRock's Canadian iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), which trades on Cboe Canada. Rather than holding individual stocks, IBQT primarily holds other iShares ETFs to deliver its equity and $BTC exposure.

The second fund, the iShares Core MSCI All-International Equity Index ETF (XINT), tracks the MSCI ACWI ex North America IMI Index, providing exposure to more than 5,000 companies across over 40 developed and emerging markets outside Canada and the United States. Both funds are managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada through the RBC iShares alliance.

BlackRock stated that its iShares business managed approximately $6.2 trillion in assets across more than 1,700 ETFs as of June 30. The company's U.S.-listed iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) remains the largest U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF by assets under management, with roughly $47.9 billion in AUM, according to CoinMarketCap data.