The highly anticipated Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which launched in January, have seen slow but steady adoption among financial advisors, according to Samara Cohen, BlackRock's Chief Investment Officer of ETFs and Index Investments.
Speaking at the Coinbase State of Crypto Summit in New York, Cohen explained that approximately 80% of Bitcoin ETF purchases are made by self-directed investors, likely through online brokerage accounts. iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was among the funds launched earlier this year.
Cohen noted that hedge funds and brokerage firms are also active buyers, as evidenced by 13-F filings in the last quarter. However, registered investment advisors have become more cautious in their approach.
“I would call them cautious… that's their job,” Cohen said of skeptical financial advisors.
“An investment advisor is trustworthy to their clients. This is an asset class that has had 90% price volatility at times in history, and their job is really to build portfolios, do risk analysis and due diligence. That's what they're doing right now.”
Cohen stated that this moment is important in terms of presenting important data, risk analysis and determining the role Bitcoin can play in a portfolio:
“That's what a consultant is supposed to do, so I think this journey we're on is exactly the right journey and they're doing their job.”
Cohen sees Bitcoin ETFs as a bridge between crypto and traditional finance, especially for investors who want to allocate their risk to BTC without having to manage their risk across two different ecosystems. He noted that before the launch of ETFs, existing bridges to crypto were inadequate for some investors' needs.
*This is not investment advice.