BlackRock Canada Debuts Two ETFs Including Equity Fund With 3% Bitcoin Allocation

BlackRock Canada has launched two new exchange-traded funds, including one that pairs globally diversified equity exposure with a 3% allocation to Bitcoin, offering investors a way to gain cryptocurrency exposure through a single, managed fund rather than maintaining a separate digital asset position.

The two funds — the iShares Equity + Bitcoin ETF Portfolio (IBQT) and the iShares Core MSCI All-International Equity Index ETF (XINT) — began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday.

IBQT allocates 97% of its portfolio to Canadian, US, international, and emerging-market equities, with the remaining 3% directed to Bitcoin (BTC) exposure through BlackRock's Canadian iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), which trades on Cboe Canada. Rather than investing in individual stocks, the fund primarily holds other iShares ETFs to deliver both its equity and Bitcoin exposure. The product arrives as demand for regulated Bitcoin investment vehicles has grown following the January 2024 approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States.

XINT, the second fund, tracks the MSCI ACWI ex North America IMI Index, offering exposure to more than 5,000 companies across as many as 40 developed and emerging markets outside of Canada and the United States.

Both funds are managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada under the RBC iShares alliance. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, reported that its iShares platform managed approximately $6.2 trillion in assets across more than 1,700 ETFs as of June 30.

The asset manager's US-listed iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) remains the largest US spot Bitcoin ETF by assets under management, with approximately $47.9 billion in AUM, according to CoinMarketCap data.