BlackRock (BLK) is moving deeper into the cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) market with a plan to offer income from bitcoin exposure.
The world’s largest asset manager, with an estimated $12.5 trillion in assets under management, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a Form S-1 to list the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF.
The proposed fund would actively manage exposure to bitcoin, either directly or through shares of BlackRock’s existing iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), while generating income by selling call options on that exposure.
This “covered-call” approach is already common in stock-based income funds, and some fund managers have already applied it to the crypto market. Through a covered-call strategy, the fund would generate income by selling a counterparty the right to purchase its underlying at a fixed price.
The fund, which doesn’t yet have a ticker or fee defined, would actively manage this covered-call strategy and would distribute the generated premiums to investors as income. The tradeoff here is it effectively trades potential upside for income.
Funds with similar strategies to generate income from options include the Roundhill Bitcoin Covered Call Strategy ETF (YBTC), Amplify Bitcoin Max Income Covered Call ETF (BAGY), and the NEOS Bitcoin High Income ETF (BTCI).
Still, BlackRock’s entry stands out for its scale and ties to IBIT, already the dominant spot bitcoin ETF with over $69.7 billion in assets according to SoSoValue data. IBIT and other bitcoin funds offered by BlackRock have been so successful they have become the firm’s top revenue source.
Some covered-call ETFs tend to dilute net asset value (NAV) as they offer higher yields to investors, partly through the return of capital. YBTC, for example, currently shows it has a 35.87% distribution rate, while BTCI shows its distribution rate is at 27.25%. BAGY’s distribution rate is at 37.1%.
Excluding distributions, which are often in the double-digits given the underlying asset’s volatility, bitcoin-focused income ETFs have so far underperformed BTC, something they’re often designed to do given the higher yields offered.
Over the last 12-month period, BTCI is down by around 31.3%, while YBTC lost 45% of its value, compared to the cryptocurrency’s 14% drawdown. BAGY, which launched in late April 2025, is down 25% since its debut.
