HK Company Becomes Largest Holder in BlackRock Bitcoin ETF

Hong Kong’s Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd claims the top spot in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF holdings.

Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd. of Hong Kong has surpassed all other holders of the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), according to data released by a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst on Friday. 

Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, disclosed that Yong Rong Asset Management, headquartered in Hong Kong, acquired BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) for $38 million. The investment advisor surpassed 12% of reported holdings and became the largest holder of IBIT.

“Compellingly given,” HK now has its ETFs. “However, US ETFs possess the enticing combination of high volume and low fees,” said Eric Balchunas. 

Yong Rong Asset Management maintains the iShares Bitcoin ETF, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla as its top four holdings. Other data sources, meanwhile, indicate that the organization has spent more than $45 million to acquire 1,127,561 IBIT units.

An analyst at Bloomberg also noted that while Yong Rong has the most significant single ETF investment, Ovata, a Hong Kong firm, amassed $74 million in holdings across four spot bitcoin ETFs. This makes the firm its largest Bitcoin ETF purchaser to date. Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), Fidelity Wise (FBTC), and GBTC comprise the firm’s top three holdings.

After a significant decline of over $550 million on Wednesday, U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETF outflows decreased to $34 million. Most of the investment was made in Thursday’s Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF. 

According to an intriguing hypothesis by Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, a selloff by the Hong Kong-based investment management firm could result in a significant outflow from IBIT.

Furthermore, he postulated that Yong Rong Asset Management’s transition from the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETF to a spot Bitcoin ETF domiciled in Hong Kong could result in outflow. “However, potential gains taxes render this peculiar, if accurate,” he continued. 

The BTC price regained more than $61,000, after a deceleration in the labor market and an unexpectedly high unemployment rate of 3.9%. This suggests the Federal Reserve may still implement additional rate cuts this year, as FED Swaps suggest two rate cuts of 25 basis points each.