Name: Where crypto ETFs could be headed in 2026
Uploaded: 2026-01-07T03:38:00.157Z
Duration: 3 min 45 s
Description: Crypto has gained a lot of traction over the last couple of years, but BlackRock U.S. head of equity ETFs Jay Jacobs tells CNBC’s Dominic Chu on “ETF Edge” the asset is still in its early days. He says his firm is focused on teaching investors about the asset, how it can fit into a portfolio, and how it might behave in different market environments.

Crypto has gained a lot of traction over the last couple of years, but BlackRock U.S. head of equity ETFs Jay Jacobs tells CNBC’s Dominic Chu on “ETF Edge” the asset is still in its early days. He says his firm is focused on teaching investors about the asset, how it can fit into a portfolio, and how it might behave in different market environments.

New York

Cryptocurrency ETFs, particularly those offered by large asset managers such as BlackRock, have seen increased interest and significant asset growth in recent years. Products like IBIT and ETHA, which track Bitcoin and Ethereum, have enabled a broader range of investors and financial advisors to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies through traditional investment vehicles.

Despite notable price volatility in the underlying assets, these ETFs have maintained strong investor loyalty and continued asset gathering. The trend indicates that investors are treating cryptocurrency allocations as long-term alternatives in their portfolios, rather than making rapid shifts in response to market fluctuations.

Where crypto ETFs could be headed in 2026

Now, the cryptocurrency side of things is something that has gained a lot more traction over the course of the last couple of years, especially because large-scale asset managers like BlackRock now have options to invest in equity-like formats in terms of ETFs, but using exposure for things like Bitcoin and Ethereum. BlackRock has IBIT, it has ETHA, right? Those are two of the big ones out there that track the two biggest cryptocurrencies. What exactly do you see as the future for crypto investing with ETF investors using those vehicles to gain their crypto exposure? It's still so early. It's only been less, it wins its anniversary in a couple of days, two years since IBIT originally launched, and we've seen it raise tens of billions of dollars. But still many investors have still just been starting their educational journey around what is Bitcoin, how might it fit in a portfolio. For many financial advisors, maybe they didn't have access to crypto before or even weren't able to buy IBIT until it was approved on their platforms. We're starting to see a much more broader group of people that can and are interested in investing in this asset class. So we see this still being very early days for Bitcoin and Ethereum. It's a lot more about education, a lot more about how does this fit in a portfolio, how might it behave in different market environments, and how could it sit alongside stocks and bonds. Now, Todd, the crypto story is not one that's new for crypto investors to the direct cryptocurrencies themselves, but the democratization, if you will, of the markets because of the ETF business and the ETF industry has allowed more access to these types of exposures for traders and investors who typically are not categorized as, say, crypto native. What exactly have you seen that suggests that this ETF, I guess, focused crypto type investing really has maybe longer term momentum? So I think last year was a great example of there was volatility tied to Bitcoin. IBIT, we'll use that as the example, saw some price volatility. I think it finished down for the year and still had one of the best years in terms of asset gathering. So it shows that investors that are moving in to getting exposure to cryptocurrency through the ETF wrapper have some loyalty to the product, have confidence in the long term trends. They're not necessarily moving in or moving out based on that volatility. So that to me makes it feel like an advisor or an investor is offering an allocation to cryptocurrency as an alternative, and then they're sticking with it. They're not necessarily selling out and looking for another alternative so quickly. So I would compliment BlackRock and their shareholders for staying relatively loyal given the volatility that we saw. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

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