BlackRock Files SEC Prospectus for iShares Bitcoin Managed Protection ETF

Asset manager BlackRock filed a preliminary prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday for the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protection ETF ($PBIT) ¹. Instead of directly holding spot crypto, the proposed product intends to utilize options contracts tied to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF ($IBIT) to provide limited downside protection alongside capped upside gains ¹.

The structure uses three overlapping sets of options tranches, with plans to replace one tranche each month ¹. According to the preliminary prospectus, each options tranche aims for an initial maximum loss exposure of approximately 10% relative to the underlying Bitcoin-linked asset prior to fees and expenses ¹. However, BlackRock noted in the filing that the vehicle "does not provide a fixed Tranche Protection Start Value, Floor or Tranche Cap Value," which could expose investors to larger losses ¹.

Deepening Established Crypto Asset Lineups

The planned vehicle represents BlackRock's third Bitcoin-focused fund registration, coming as asset managers continue to roll out structured and derivative-backed wrappers such as the leveraged filings recently pursued by competitors ¹. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart noted that comparable buffered Bitcoin strategies are already offered by issuers including Calamos, First Trust, and Innovator ¹. BlackRock's spot fund, IBIT, held $65.7 billion in net assets as of Monday, while its spot Ethereum fund, the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF ($ETHA), held $8 billion ¹.

The asset manager launched the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB) in March 2026 and the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA) in June 2026 ¹. ETF Store president Nate Geraci highlighted that BlackRock continues to avoid filings for spot funds tied to other tokens, such as $SOL or $XRP, maintaining a strategy focused entirely on products around Bitcoin and Ether ¹. At the time of writing, Bitcoin traded around $81,403.