BlackRock, the world’s leading asset manager with assets under management exceeding $11.6 trillion, reported a robust first quarter of 2025, driven by significant inflows in digital assets. The company saw $3 billion in inflows specifically into crypto-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs), accounting for a mere 2.8% of the firm’s total net inflows of $107 billion to iShares ETFs during the period. Blackrock’s Q1 earnings, released on April 11, showed strong performance with significant growth in both ETF and private market investments. Private market activity also contributed significantly, generating $9.3 billion in inflows for alternative investments during the quarter. While digital assets remain a relatively small segment of BlackRock’s business, representing just 0.5% of total assets under management, their presence continues to grow. The company’s performance is noteworthy even in challenging market conditions. Despite widespread liquidations in the Bitcoin ETF market earlier this year, investor interest in crypto-backed ETFs has remained steady. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink highlighted his firm’s focus on achieving strong fee growth and navigating the complexities of the current market environment. This success was aided by a 6% organic base fee growth in the first quarter, marking BlackRock’s best start to a year since 2021, according to his report. Blackrock received approval from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority to operate as a crypto asset firm in the country, enabling them to arrange transactions for exchange-traded products backed by crypto assets and launch their European spot Bitcoin ETP in the UK, however, only for institutional and professional investors.