BlackRock has taken a major step toward launching its Bitcoin income-focused exchange-traded fund by submitting a key registration document to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The asset manager filed a Form 8-A on June 11, which moves the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF closer to trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker BITA. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that such filings typically precede a launch within one week, suggesting BITA could begin trading as early as next Thursday.
The proposed fund aims to generate income by selling call options tied to BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, while maintaining exposure to Bitcoin. According to the filing, the sponsor fee is set at 0.65%, paid from proceeds of IBIT sales, with possible fee waivers. As of the latest documents, the fund holds roughly $9.99 million in net assets, seeded by BlackRock Financial Management through a $9.9 million purchase of shares at $50 each.
Jane Street Capital and Virtu Financial Singapore have been named as Bitcoin trading counterparties. Following the capital raise, the fund acquired 109.96 BTC and 90,901 IBIT shares while writing 856 option contracts. BlackRock’s move comes amid growing competition in the Bitcoin income ETF space, following Goldman Sachs’ filing for a similar product in April.
This ETF is part of BlackRock’s broader expansion of thematic funds, including the recent launch of the iShares Space Technologies UCITS ETF, which tracks space, satellite, and drone companies. The Bitcoin income product represents a novel approach to combining crypto exposure with income generation through options strategies.