BlackRock updated its regulatory filing for a new Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, signaling an imminent launch that intensifies a Wall Street race against Goldman Sachs Group to capture yield-seeking digital asset investors. On June 10, the world's largest asset manager submitted an amended prospectus to the SEC for the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, which will trade under ticker BITA. The amendment introduces critical operational and pricing parameters, including an annualized sponsor fee of 0.65% payable at least quarterly. The fee positions BITA as a higher-cost alternative to plain-vanilla spot Bitcoin funds, such as BlackRock's own iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). Still, this fee is significantly below the expense structures typical of larger equity-based covered-call ETFs in traditional markets. Meanwhile, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the submission likely represents the final structural adjustment before the fund receives regulatory approval to begin public trading.
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The updated registration statement reveals that an initial seed investor acquired 198,000 shares at $50 per share on June 1, providing $9.9 million in proceeds to establish the trust. BlackRock deployed that capital to establish the fund's baseline portfolio on June 9. The trust acquired exactly 109.9630217 Bitcoin alongside 90,901 shares of IBIT. Simultaneously, the fund managers wrote 856 options contracts to initiate the income-generating component of the strategy. Following these transactions, the trust reported a net asset value of approximately $9.99 million, representing an initial net asset value per share of $49.97.
The prospectus notes that the trust intends to fulfill its ongoing 0.65% sponsor fee by periodically liquidating portions of its IBIT holdings. This mechanical design reflects the fund's blended composition, holding physical Bitcoin, liquid spot ETF shares, and cash instruments concurrently while writing options contracts primarily against its IBIT equity allocation. The covered-call strategy involves selling call options on a portion of the Bitcoin exposure, generating premiums that are distributed as income. The fund targets overwriting between 25% and 35% of its total net asset value, balancing income generation with upside participation.
