Updated Oct 20, 2026, 10:43 a.m. EDT. Published Oct 20, 2026, 10:28 a.m. EDT.
2 min read.
While bitcoin (BTC) surrendered greater than 50% of its worth during the previous year’s market downturn, participants in a specific fund managed by Calamos Investments managed to avoid most of the distress.
The Naperville, Illinois asset manager’s Bitcoin Structured Alt Protection ETF – October (CBOO) declined merely 1% following the launch of its annual protection phase in October 2025, a representative for Calamos noted. Conversely, the premier cryptocurrency dropped as much as 52% relative to its all-time peak of approximately $126,000.
Presently, BlackRock (BLK), the premier asset management firm globally, aims to deliver a comparable method for market participants to safeguard their capital against bitcoin volatility.
During Monday’s session, the institution submitted a filing to launch the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protect ETF, designed to grant exposure to bitcoin price appreciation while attempting to restrict drawdowns during market downturns.
“The Fund seeks to provide upside exposure to the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF and/or similar bitcoin exposure up to an approximate limit, while seeking to provide a level of downside protection,” stated BlackRock within the regulatory documentation.
The contemplated investment vehicle would expand upon BlackRock’s primary iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which oversees upwards of $65 billion in capital and stands as the biggest among American spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds established in 2024.
Headquartered in New York City, BlackRock is not pioneering this specific concept.
Calamos rolled out its initial trio of buffered bitcoin exchange-traded funds during early 2025, presenting clients with alternatives spanning full downside defense alongside options capping drawdowns at either 10% or 20% across a predetermined timeframe.
The regulatory submission from BlackRock omitted specifics regarding the exact degree of downside security the envisioned fund would supply, nor the precise proportion of bitcoin upward movement participants could secure.
Calamos allocates roughly 90% of portfolio capital into American Treasury securities, deploying the remaining portion toward derivatives linked to bitcoin. This configuration enables investors to profit during periods of cryptocurrency growth, subject to a specific ceiling, while containing drawdowns throughout a specified duration.
This particular investment approach has successfully drawn a following. Matt Kaufman, who directs exchange-traded funds at Calamos, remarked in May that the buffered bitcoin portfolios secured between $10 million and $15 million across a span of multiple weeks, even amidst capital withdrawals from standard spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Additionally, BlackRock has explored avenues extending past investment vehicles that merely monitor underlying bitcoin valuations.
Back in June, the corporation rolled out the Bitcoin Premium Income Fund (BITA), maintaining holdings in both bitcoin and shares of IBIT while simultaneously writing call options on approximately 25% to 35% of its holdings to produce regular monthly distributions.
“There are investors across the spectrum … looking to generate some amount of income off of still having a mostly large, mostly long position to bitcoin,” Jay Jacobs, who serves as BlackRock’s U.S. head of equity ETFs, conveyed to CoinDesk during that period.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/10/20/blackrock-seeks-to-shield-bitcoin-investors-from-losses-after-rival-fund-weathers-50-crash.
