BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), the world's largest asset manager, has launched its first-ever private trust offering direct bitcoin (BTC-USD) exposure to its U.S.-based institutional clients.The trust aims to track the performance of bitcoin (BTC-USD) in response to heightened client interest.“Despite the steep downturn in the digital-asset market, we are still seeing substantial interest from some institutional clients in how to efficiently and cost-effectively access these assets using our technology and product capabilities,” the company said in a release Thursday. The Wall Street giant said it has conducted work in permissioned blockchains, stablecoins, cryptoassets and tokenization, "where we see potential to benefit our clients and capital markets more broadly."The move comes on the heels of its partnership with crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) allowing institutional clients to manage their bitcoin (BTC-USD) holdings alongside other public and private investments.In February, BlackRock considered crypto trading service for investor clients.
