BlackRock generated $82 million in revenue from its digital-asset products during the first half of 2026, despite falling Bitcoin and Ethereum prices erasing nearly $30 billion from the assets supporting the business. The world’s largest asset manager recorded $42 million in digital-asset base fees and securities-lending revenue in the first quarter, followed by $40 million in the three months ended June 30. The results extend a lucrative expansion into cryptocurrency products that began with the launch of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin and ETH exchange-traded funds in 2024.
Digital Asset Revenue
BlackRock’s Q2 filing showed average digital-asset assets under management of $67.74 billion in the first quarter and $61.48 billion in the second. The balance had fallen to $48.84 billion by June 30, with data from CryptoSlate showing that BTC and ETH declined by more than 26% respectively since the beginning of this year. As a result, BlackRock’s digital-asset AUM fell 38% during the first half of the year, declining to $48.84 billion from $78.44 billion at the end of December.
Expansion Plans
Chief Financial Officer Martin Small said on the earnings call that BlackRock has about $110 billion in assets tied to digital markets and aims for the segment to generate $500 million in annual revenue by 2030. This revenue target would be roughly three times the annualized pace implied by the $82 million generated during the first half of this year. BlackRock is focusing on connecting regulated investment products to digital markets, managing reserves backing stablecoins, and placing traditional investment products on blockchain networks.
Stablecoin Reserves
BlackRock manages about $60 billion of reserves for Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, and is seeking similar mandates from other issuers as the sector expands. Such arrangements could generate management fees from the cash, Treasury securities and other assets backing stablecoins, allowing BlackRock to benefit from growth in digital payments even when demand for speculative cryptocurrency products weakens.
Based on reporting from crypto.news.
