BlackRock seeks to shield bitcoin investors from losses after rival fund weathers 50% crash BlackRock’s proposed fund follows similar products from Calamos that helped investors avoid steep losses during bitcoin’s selloff. – BlackRock filed Monday to offer a bitcoin-linked ETF…
at seeks to limit losses while allowing investors to benefit from price gains. – Calamos’ protected bitcoin ETF lost just 1% since October 2025, even as bitcoin tumbled more than 50% from its peak. – The filing follows BlackRock’s June introduction of a bitcoin income ETF as the firm expands beyond funds that track bitcoin’s price. While bitcoin The Naperville, Illinois-based firm’s Bitcoin Structured Alt Protection ETF – October (CBOO) dropped just 1% since the start of its one-year protection period in October 2025, according to a Calamos spokesperson
The largest cryptocurrency, in contrast, tumbled as much as 52% from its record high of roughly $126,000. Now BlackRock (BLK), the world’s largest asset manager, wants to offer investors a similar way to protect themselves from bitcoin’s price swings. On Monday, the firm filed to introduce the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protect ETF, which would give investors exposure to bitcoin’s gains while seeking to limit losses when the cryptocurrency falls. “The Fund seeks to provide upside exposure to the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF and/or similar bitcoin exposure up to an approximate limit, while seeking to provide a level of downside protection,” BlackRock said in the filing.
The proposed fund would build on BlackRock’s flagship iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which manages more than $65 billion in assets and is the largest of the U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs introduced in 2024. BlackRock, based in New York City, isn’t breaking new ground. Calamos debuted its first three protected bitcoin ETFs in early 2025, offering investors a choice between full downside protection and funds that limit losses to 10% or 20% over a set period.