Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, has made its first move into crypto markets, purchasing shares in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
According to a May 20 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Blackstone acquired 23,094 IBIT shares as of March 31, valued at approximately $1.08 million.
Though modest in size—especially relative to Blackstone’s $1.2 trillion in assets under management—the move represents a notable shift for a firm that has historically kept crypto at arm’s length.
The filing also reveals that Blackstone purchased 9,889 shares of the ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO), totaling $181,166, and a smaller position in Bitcoin Depot Inc. (BTM), a crypto ATM operator, with 4,300 shares worth just $6,300.
In contrast, the Wisconsin Investment Board, one of the first U.S. public pension funds to gain Bitcoin exposure, reported on May 15 that it had fully liquidated its 6 million IBIT shares during Q1. IBIT continues to outpace competitors like Fidelity’s FBTC and ARK’s Bitcoin ETF, which have seen $11.8 billion and $2.8 billion in net inflows, respectively.
As of mid-May, the fund has recorded over $46.1 billion in net inflows and has not seen a single outflow since April 9, according to Farside Investors.
In 2019, Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman expressed skepticism about crypto, stating, “I was raised in a world where someone needs to control currencies,” and admitted difficulty understanding the technology behind it.
DigiAsia says it intends to allocate up to 50% of its net profits toward acquiring Bitcoin, signaling a shift in how it plans to manage its capital amid growing corporate interest in digital assets.
Shares of Indonesian fintech firm DigiAsia Corp surged by over 91% on May 19, after the Nasdaq-listed company announced plans to raise $100 million to initiate Bitcoin purchases as part of a new treasury strategy.