BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Hits Another Historic Milestone

As a seasoned researcher with over two decades of experience in the financial markets, I have witnessed countless launches and failures of investment products. However, the performance of BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in the last seven months has left me quite astonished. The product’s unparalleled success story is a testament to the growing demand for cryptocurrency exposure among institutional investors.


Without a doubt, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has surpassed its peers in the past seven months. This innovative Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) product currently holds an unmatched performance record that no other issuer can claim. As stated by Nate Geraci, president of ETFStore, IBIT has seen only one day of withdrawal since its launch in January.

BlackRock spot Bitcoin ETF rises above crypto market crash

As an analyst, I’d like to draw your attention to a significant achievement: the staggering inflow of approximately $20.5 billion into our product this year. This impressive figure underscores its popularity and success. To put it simply, this product has truly stood out in 2024, earning the title of the “top launch” of the year.

“This is exactly what ‘no demand’ looks like,” Geraci added ironically.

Since its launch in January, the iShares Bitcoin ETF has experienced only one day with outflows…

In other words, it’s been one single day of withdrawals.

However, this ETF has seen a whopping $20.5 billion influx of funds.

This impressive launch makes it the top-ranked product of 2024.

To put it simply, this is a clear demonstration of “overwhelming demand”.

Source: @thomas_fahrer

— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) August 17, 2024

On the 1st of August, a massive worldwide crash occurred in the cryptocurrency market, causing prices to slump significantly. This dramatic drop earned the day the nickname “Red Monday” and forced numerous investors to offload their investments. American Bitcoin ETFs collectively saw an outflow of $168 million on that day. Contrastingly, BlackRock’s IBIT did not witness any sell-offs, inflows, or outflows.

On that very day, Grayscale’s (GBTC) withdrawals made up approximately one-third of the collective withdrawals. Given the market forecast at the time, Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst for Bloomberg, anticipated that the ensuing week might witness even more withdrawals, potentially amounting to billions or roughly 5% of the total.

The market later entered its recovery phase with a little less outflow, but IBIT remained afloat.

BlackRock IBIT records over $20 billion inflows

Approximately two weeks into the current month, U.Today announced that IBIT had amassed approximately $20 billion in investments this year. Consequently, IBIT boasted the highest inflow among newly launched ETFs in 2024, drawing even more investment.

The president of ETFStore pointed out that BlackRock’s IBIT, Fidelity’s FBTC, Ark Invest’s ARKB, and Bitwise’s BITB are the top four Bitcoin ETFs introduced in 2024. Grayscale’s GBTC lags significantly behind these, and it seems that the reason is its high management fee.

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2024-08-17 17:27