Crypto Currents: Strategy bitcoin treasury nears Amazon, Google cash holdings

BlackRock is making a massive push into ether, significantly boosting its holdings and launching new tokenized funds. Meanwhile, institutional infrastructure continues to mature with new custody partnerships and the creation of hybrid crypto-stock indexes from major players like S&P Global. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with “Crypto Currents,” daily from The Fly. Join us 2 PM daily for your essential briefing on the fast-moving world of cryptocurrency on FlyCast radio. Also, subscribe to our YouTube channel for the Crypto Fly By weekly recap.

BLACKROCK’S ETHER HOLDINGS SURGE BY $11.46B AMID TOKENIZATION PUSH: BlackRock (BLK), dramatically increased its cryptocurrency holdings by $22.46B in Q3, bringing its total portfolio to over $102B, according to a report from Finbold. The most significant move was in its ether (ETH-USD) holdings, which surged by 262%, or $11.46B, outpacing bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) growth for the first time in the firm’s quarterly history. This aggressive push into ether coincides with the launch of tokenized versions of BlackRock funds on the Sei network, the blockchain housing the utility token sei (SEI-USD), by tokenization firm KAIO. According to CoinDesk, the move is part of a growing trend in tokenizing real-world assets. Other public companies are also increasing their ether exposure, with Cointelegraph reporting that Bit Digital (BTBT) purchased an additional 31,057 ETH for $140M, making it the sixth-largest corporate holder of the asset.

FIREBLOCKS, GALAXY AND BAKKT PARTNER TO EXPAND INSTITUTIONAL CUSTODY: The infrastructure for institutional crypto investment is expanding as Fireblocks Trust company has partnered with Galaxy Digital (GLXY) and Bakkt (BKKT) to enhance institutional-grade crypto custody, Cointelegraph reports. The company is launching a new framework to meet rising demand for regulated digital asset services for ETFs and corporate treasuries. The announcement comes as more traditional financial institutions push into the space. In recent months, Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DB) unveiled plans for a digital asset custody service, Citigroup (C) was reported to be exploring crypto custody, and U.S. Bancorp (USB) relaunched its own digital asset custody services.

S&P GLOBAL LAUNCHES HYBRID CRYPTO-STOCK INDEX AS U.K. LIFTS ETN BAN: The barrier between digital assets and traditional equity markets continues to dissolve with S&P Global (SPGI) launching its first hybrid index. According to TradingView, the S&P Digital Markets 50 Index will track 35 publicly traded companies alongside 15 leading cryptocurrencies, including XRP (XRP-USD). In another sign of growing access for investors, regulators in the United Kingdom have lifted a four-year ban on the sale of crypto Exchange Traded Notes to retail customers. As reported by CoinDesk, wealth management app Stratiphy is partnering with issuer 21Shares to be the first to offer the newly accessible products to U.K. investors.

STRATEGY BITCOIN TREASURY NEARS AMAZON, GOOGLE CASH HOLDINGS: Strategy’s (MSTR) bitcoin treasury briefly topped $80B in value this week, placing it in proximity to the cash and short-term investment holdings of tech giants like Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOGL), and Microsoft (MSFT), which hold between $95B and $97B. According to an X post from the company’s. account, the value of Strategy’s bitcoin now exceeds the cash piles of companies such as Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), and Meta (META). While bitcoin remains the primary treasury asset, other companies are diversifying. Cointelegraph reports that CleanCore Solutions (ZONE) has added over 710M dogecoin (DOGE-USD) to its balance sheet, valued at approximately $174M.

PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin (BTC-USD) was trading at $122,210.78 , while ether (ETH-USD) was trading at $4,447.33, according to price data from CoinDesk.