BlackRock ETF’s options offset 28.7% of $1.2M crypto loss

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA) recorded $344,849 in combined gains from written options and an $860,335 decline in net assets from operations in its first reporting period through June 30, the fund’s filing shows.

The filing breaks down the option results as $79,073 of realized gains and $265,776 of unrealized appreciation. Those gains offset $782,203 of unrealized losses on Bitcoin holdings and $417,644 of unrealized losses on shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), for a combined $1,199,847 in crypto mark-to-market losses. A $5,337 net investment loss contributed to the $860,335 decrease from operations.

BITA’s financial-statement net asset value per share fell 3.08%, from a $50 seed value on April 21 to $48.46 on June 30. The filing also reports Bitcoin down 4.43% and IBIT down 4.75% from the fund’s initial purchases on June 9 through quarter-end. A separate figure shows a negative 5.61% total return from the June 12 start of public trading through June 30. Because those measures use different start dates, the filing does not present a single, direct comparison of option performance versus the underlying declines.

The fund’s prospectus targets written-call notional equal to 25% to 35% of net asset value. Selling covered calls produces premium income that can offset losses inside the fund, while the covered holdings retain downside exposure and forego gains above option strike prices, the filing explains.

BITA reported $42.6 million in net assets at quarter-end after receiving $43.5 million in capital contributions. Share count rose from 2,000 to 880,000, including 198,000 seed shares and 680,000 created shares. A July 1 filing declared a $457,924.72 distribution attributed to premiums or other income received from June 9 through June 30; that distribution exceeded the combined GAAP option gains by $113,075.72.

The filing states the roughly three-week record of public trading is too brief to assess how the option-writing strategy performs through a larger drawdown, a sharp rebound or a full Bitcoin market cycle.