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BlackRock on Monday filed a preliminary prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protection ETF, ticker PBIT, Cointelegraph reported. The fund would use options tied to BlackRock’s own iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) instead of holding Bitcoin (BTC) directly, pairing limited downside protection with capped gains.
The filing adds a third Bitcoin fund to a lineup that already includes two Bitcoin products and two Ether products, but it does not extend BlackRock into spot ETFs for other cryptocurrencies such as Solana or XRP.
Also read: Why Crypto ETF Liquidity Depends on More Than Bitcoin Trading Volume
Key facts
- PBIT would use options linked to IBIT rather than holding Bitcoin; IBIT held $65.7 billion in net assets as of Monday, according to BlackRock.
- Each options tranche would initially target a maximum loss exposure of about 10% to the underlying Bitcoin-linked asset, before fees and expenses.
- Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said PBIT marks BlackRock’s third Bitcoin ETF filing, though similar buffered Bitcoin funds already exist from Calamos, First Trust and Innovator.
- Blockchainreporter reported the registration was a Form 485APOS filed with the SEC on October 19, 2026, and said BlackRock names Erin Armstrong, Kyle McClements and Richard Mejzak as portfolio managers.
- ETF Store president Nate Geraci questioned BlackRock’s continued absence from spot ETFs for other cryptocurrencies.
A hedged wrapper, not a spot fund
The proposed fund uses three overlapping sets of options contracts, typically replacing one each month, to seek downside protection while limiting potential gains. BlackRock cautioned that the fund “does not provide a fixed Tranche Protection Start Value, Floor or Tranche Cap Value,” meaning investors could face losses larger than the initial target.
Blockchainreporter described the structure in more detail, reporting that the filing names the approach the “Bitcoin Managed Protection Strategy” and that the portfolio combines purchased calls, sold calls and a fixed-income sleeve. It said BlackRock generally expects to use Flexible Exchange Options, cleared through the Options Clearing Corporation, and that options are bought in-the-money and sold out-of-the-money. Blockchainreporter also noted the management fee is left as a blank placeholder in the preliminary filing.
Also read: BlackRock's IBIT Buys 1.97K BTC as ETF Inflows Hit Six Sessions
Growth in ETF strategies, not new coins
BlackRock entered the US spot Bitcoin ETF market in January 2024 with IBIT, followed by the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) in July that year. In March 2026 it added the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB), offering Ether exposure with staking rewards, and in June it launched the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA), designed to generate income through options trading. ETHA had $8 billion in net assets, according to BlackRock.
Geraci wrote on X on Monday that he was “Still shocked they’re sitting out on spot ETFs for SOL, XRP, HYPE, etc,” adding that BlackRock has high conviction in sticking with BTC and ETH, “for now.”
Why it matters
PBIT would give allocators a way to hold Bitcoin-linked exposure inside a fund designed to soften drawdowns, potentially drawing in investors who balk at the asset’s volatility. It also keeps BlackRock focused on Bitcoin and Ether while competitors build products around other tokens. The two reports differ on the underlying price context: Blockchainreporter put Bitcoin near $81,685 (Coinbase, 07:12 UTC on October 20) and near $82,000 after a 33% quarter, a figure Cointelegraph did not include.
What to watch
The 485APOS is preliminary, and the SEC has neither approved nor disapproved the securities. Blockchainreporter noted the filing’s 75-day checkbox points to roughly early January 2027, and the management fee, still blank, is the next signal the market can price.
This is not financial advice, and the value of crypto-linked products is volatile and uncertain.
Reported by cointelegraph.com.
Sources: Cointelegraph, Blockchainreporter