Changing the game for Bitcoin investing with an ETP

• Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptoasset,¹ has experienced rapid adoption, catching the attention of individual and institutional investors alike.
• Traditionally, investing directly in bitcoin comes with several obstacles, such as opening new accounts, potentially high trading fees and addressing security challenges.
• IBIT offers convenient exposure to bitcoin through a familiar and commonly-traded investment vehicle — the exchange-traded product (ETP).

Bitcoin is the world’s leading and most widely adopted cryptoasset with a market cap of over $1.2 trillion.¹ Bitcoin's global and decentralized nature gives it the potential to be viewed as a global monetary alternative that may benefit from global disorder and declining trust in institutions and government-issued fiat currencies. Investors have taken notice as institutions and individuals alike have been adding bitcoin exposure to their financial assets. Yet until now, gaining exposure to bitcoin has often presented investors with several obstacles, from needing to open new accounts, facing high trading fees, and addressing security challenges. But just as exchange-traded products (ETPs) have brought millions of investors efficient access to previously difficult-to-reach markets, IBIT now brings exposure to bitcoin in a convenient way.

Since bitcoin’s launch in 2009, its pace of adoption has been even faster than that of other breakthrough technologies like the internet and mobile phones. Several factors have accelerated this adoption, including:

• Demographic patterns: younger generations are more likely to be considered "digital natives," resulting in greater predisposition towards bitcoin adoption than GenX and Baby Boomers.²
• Global shifts: certain trends such as rising inflation, global political division, and banking and fiscal concerns have increased bitcoin’s resonance as a decentralized asset.
• Future of finance: and lastly, the continued digital transformation of the global economy is changing the world of finance, with the maturation of digital assets infrastructure easing barriers of access and creating new use cases for bitcoin.³

Despite rising bitcoin adoption, direct investing in bitcoin presents unique complexities for investors. That’s why we launched IBIT — the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF — to make exposure to bitcoin easier for all.

Here’s why we believe IBIT can change the game for investors:

1. Access: Investors can get bitcoin exposure through the convenience of an exchange-traded product, helping remove the operational, tax, and custody complexities of holding bitcoin directly. As an ETP, IBIT invests directly in bitcoin, but trades like a stock. Therefore, it can be traded through traditional brokerage platforms alongside other investments such as stocks, bonds, and ETFs — across both taxable and tax-advantaged accounts like IRAs.
2. Liquidity: IBIT has been the most traded bitcoin exchange-traded product since launch, providing investors with potentially lower transaction costs.⁵
3. Integrated technology: IBIT is managed by the world’s largest asset manager, and leverages a multi-year technology integration developed with Coinbase Prime, the world’s largest institutional digital asset custodian.⁶

The debut of IBIT marks a significant milestone for both digital assets and traditional markets. IBIT’s launch is rooted in iShares’ commitment to providing exposure, making bitcoin available to more investors through the convenience, efficiency, and familiarity of an exchange-traded product.

Access IBIT through your online brokerage or discuss with your financial planner to find out how IBIT may fit into your portfolio.