One week after announcing a partnership with crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN), BlackRock (BLK), the worldrs largest asset manager, has launched a spot bitcoin (BTC) private trust for U.S.-based institutional investors

The trust, BlackRockrs first to offer direct exposure to bitcoin, seeks to track the performance of the largest cryptocurrency by market value.lDespite the steep downturn in the digital asset market, we are still seeing substantial interest from some institutional clients in how to efficiently and cost-effectively access these assets using our technology and product capabilities,r the BlackRock team said in a website post.BlackRock said the firm has conducted work in four areas of digital assets and their ecosystems that could benefit the firmrs clients and broader capital markets: permissioned blockchains, stablecoins, crypto assets and tokenization.In March, CEO Larry Fink said the firm was exploring ways to offer digital assets to its clients, confirming that institutional investors remained interested in the crypto industry even as the bear market emerged.Last week, BlackRock and Coinbase announced that mutual institutional customers would have access to digital assets through BlackRockrs Aladdin portfolio management software, starting with bitcoin.

Read more: How Are Institutions and Companies Investing in Crypto?