While traditional markets spiraled amid a global tariff escalation, BlackRock made a bold move: it bought $66 million worth of Bitcoin on a day when most investors were heading for the exits.
April 4 marked a second consecutive day of sharp market losses following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of what he called “reciprocal tariffs” on April 2—an event he labeled “Liberation Day.” The response from China was swift. That same day, it imposed its own 34% tariffs on American imports, intensifying concerns about a looming trade war.
Major U.S. indices reflected the panic. By the afternoon of April 4, the S&P 500 had dropped 4.61% to 5,147.51, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.95% at 38,944.31, and the Nasdaq tumbled 4.79% to 15,757.01. Investors were clearly rattled, and the flight from equities was widespread.
Even BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, wasn’t spared. Its shares, trading under the ticker BLK, had declined 6% by the same afternoon, sitting at $833.61. Since April 2, the stock had fallen roughly 13%—a significant drop for a company of its scale and influence.
Yet amid the chaos, BlackRock made an unexpected and telling decision. According to Arkham, a blockchain intelligence platform, the firm acquired $66 million in Bitcoin on April 4. This wasn’t just a market hedge—it was a statement.
BlackRock’s involvement with Bitcoin is nothing new. Since January 2024, the company has been offering a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. This financial product allows investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without directly buying or holding the cryptocurrency, tracking its market price instead.
The latest Bitcoin purchase suggests that BlackRock sees the asset not just as a speculative investment, but as a strategic one—especially in times of geopolitical and financial instability. It’s a move that underscores Bitcoin’s increasing role in the portfolios of traditional institutions.
Adding weight to this position, BlackRock representatives met with staff from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto task force just days earlier, on April 1, to discuss future digital asset offerings. The timing of both the meeting and the purchase points to a long-term view of the crypto market, regardless of the current macroeconomic turbulence.
As of April 3, data from SoSoValue showed that BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF had amassed more than $47 billion in net assets—a figure that speaks to both institutional demand and growing confidence in the asset class.
Rather than retreating in the face of a global sell-off, BlackRock’s move shows it’s leaning into the volatility. And if their strategy proves successful, it may once again affirm that in every crisis, there’s an opportunity—sometimes in the form of digital gold.
By Alejandro Silva Ramírez, Crypto Analyst & Columnist