Blockchain research platform Arkham Intelligence has claimed to identify the on-chain addresses holding the Bitcoin reserve for four spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S.
In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Arkham revealed that it had located the on-chain addresses of spot Bitcoin ETFs issued by BlackRock, Bitwise, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton. The data furnished by Arkham enables individuals to check the transaction hashes handled by these four Bitcoin ETFs directly on the Bitcoin blockchain.
According to this information, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is currently ensconced with 33,430 BTC, equivalent to approximately $1.3 billion. This data tally precisely with the IBIT holdings data made available on BlackRock’s website.
These new discoveries originate a few months after Arkham claimed to identify the addresses of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) in September 2023, which was converted to a spot Bitcoin ETF post historic approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2024. GBTC, at present, is the largest spot Bitcoin ETF among the approved funds, containing 558,280 BTC, approximately valued at $29 billion.
While this proves compelling, Arkham still has to identify addresses of five more active spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., including those by ARK Invest, 21Shares, Invesco and Galaxy, VanEck, Valkyrie, and WisdomTree.
The crypto community has been urging spot Bitcoin ETF issuers to publish the Bitcoin addresses securing their products, thus ensuring safety of the underlying BTC. Some industry observers suggest that ETF issuers might eventually need to disclose these addresses to enhance competitiveness.
However, the potential security risks associated with revealing on-chain addresses have been concurrently highlighted. As an example, Grayscale refused to disclose on-chain wallet details in November 2022 due to “security concerns”. Similarly, 21.co and 21Shares co-founder Ophelia Snyder, in a recent interview with Cointelegraph, cautioned about the possible “unintended consequences” of such disclosures.
