While BlackRock accelerates its expansion in digital assets in 2025, the divergence between Bitcoin and Ethereum in institutional adoption is more and more pronounced. In an interview on the Empire podcastSamara Cohen, Director General and Investments Director of ETF and Index Investments at Blackrock, offered a rare window on how the largest asset manager in the world considers the two largest cryptographic assets – and why bitcoin is decisively before Ethereum in customer demand and the integration of the portfolio.
The historic launch of BlackRock from Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has marked a central moment in the company's digital asset strategy. “These are these three things,” said Cohen, referring to the factors that led to the launch of the Bitcoin product. “But it really started with the investment thesis and customer demand for market structure and preparation for the regulatory backdrop.” Cohen stressed that before any regulatory light in green light, Blackrock's decision was rooted in the strong desire of investors to access Bitcoin in the context of diversified portfolios.
The launch of Ibit was not the first moving from BlackRock to Bitcoin. In 2022, the firm presented a private Bitcoin trust for institutional customers, a critical internal step. “We have not become practical to real Bitcoin before launching this institutional product in 2022,” said Cohen. “It was a very important institutional moment for us to familiarize ourselves with workflows and risk management and systems.”
Bitcoin demand was both wider and deeper than many had planned it. Ibit has become the most successful ETP launch in history, a fact that Cohen partly attributes to a segment of previously unexploited investors. “In general, half of Ibit holders at the moment are what we call self-directed investors,” she noted. “For 3/4 of this population, they created a brokerage account in certain cases and bought their first FTE because they wanted their bitcoin in the ETP packaging.”
Bitcoin vs. Ethereum
This contrasts strongly with Ethereum, where Cohen's tone was notably more prudent. While BlackRock also launched ETPs based in Ethereum, demand was much less robust. “Ethereum is still a distant second,” she said when he discusses the interest of institutional investors. Unlike Bitcoin, which is increasingly considered as a potential value store and a class of diversification assets, Ethereum's investment thesis has not yet been institutional.
Cohen developed the complexity of the institutions that institutions faced during the Ethereum assessment. “You could be really optimistic about the usefulness of Ethereum public blockchain, but I don't know how it results in an accumulation of value in native token,” she said. This uncertainty complicates the case of a broad adoption. Although Bitcoin's account as a “value store without borders” is relatively simple, the positioning of Ethereum remains more opaque, intertwining technological utility with questions on the economy of tokens, competition and market dynamics in the long term.
Beyond the narrative gap, Cohen identified a more structural obstacle: the general lack of standardized data and metrics of the crypto. “Crypto has a largely problem of data and standards,” she said. Comparisons with traditional markets, Cohen pointed out that metrics such as cash flows, governance and transparency of the team – critical components for investment in shares – are largely absent or inconsistent in most cryptographic assets. “If I think of indexing fundamentally as an organizational technology for a market, how are you doing this crypto task right now?” She asked for rhetorically, stressing how fundamental standards remain missing, even in the leading cryptographic eco-system.
The adoption of Bitcoin, on the other hand, is supported by clearer measures around its rarity, its emission calendar and its maturity of market infrastructure, which facilitates integration into traditional portfolio models. Cohen confirmed that BlackRock recommends a bitcoin allowance of 1 to 2% for investors looking for an exhibition, rooted in a detailed analysis of the risk contribution to the portfolios. “If you exceed 2%, the incremental contribution to the global volatility of the portfolio becomes exponentially higher,” she warned.
While Ethereum continues to make technological progress – in particular in decentralized financing and onchain applications – the point of view of Blackrock, at least for the moment, reflects the reality that institutions require clarity, normalization and well -defined evaluation models before committing significant capital. As Cohen summed up, “understand how to create an assessment framework for Ethereum or any other token becomes more complicated.”
At the time of the press, the BTC was negotiated at $ 95,120.
Star image created with dall.e, tradingView.com graphic
Editorial process Because the bitcoinist is centered on the supply of in -depth, precise and impartial content. We confirm strict supply standards, and each page undergoes a diligent review by our team of high -level technology experts and experienced editors. This process guarantees the integrity, relevance and value of our content for our readers.
