IBIT, BlakcRock’s Bitcoin-based mutual fund, outperformed the company’s gold ETF in terms of AUM for the first time. It also outperformed most of the largest traditional ETFs in returns and inflows.
- BlackRock’s IBIT strengthens its position as the world’s largest Bitcoin ETF.
- It surpassed BlackRock’s gold ETF and dominates among major U.S. traditional ETFs.
- IBIT saw record inflows of more than $1.1 billion on Thursday amid the BTC rally
- The ETF’s AUM now tops $32 billion, and inflows are $26 billion.
Amid a meteoric price momentum for Bitcoin, BlackRock’s exchange-traded fund (ETF), exposed to the cryptocurrency, has surpassed its gold-based sister vehicle in size for the first time.iShares Bitcoin Trust, the spot Bitcoin ETF offered by BlackRock in the U.S. market, better known as IBIT, has managed to exceed its traditional gold-based counterpart, iShares Gold Trust (IAU), – also operated by the New York-based asset management giant – in the amount of assets under management (AUM).
In particular, updated data for both products shows that IBIT has accumulated an AUM of around $33.1 billion, surpassing BlackRock’s gold ETF, with an approximate AUM currently of SUD $32.9 billion. The milestone for the ETF with exposure to Bitcoin followed record net inflows. IBIT recorded an inflow of more than $1.1 billion of capital on Thursday, marking a new all-time high and crowning itself as the dominant Bitcoin ETF.
The 12 U.S. Bitcoin spot funds recorded daily inflows of $1.38 billion yesterday, setting a new all-time high for products with direct exposure to the cryptocurrency. The massive inflows coincided with bullish action for Bitcoin, which rose to a new all-time-price high near $77,000 last Thursday. The cryptocurrency market has been surging in price since Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election. On Thursday, the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) announcement to cut interest rates by 0.25% helped motivate the rally.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF outperforms traditional ones
Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas noted the explosion in inflows for ETFs on Thursday, noting IBIT’s leadership among the group and asserting that it is part of the “Trump effect.” The spot Bitcoin ETFs “feasted on about 18,000 BTC in one day,” compared to the 450 mined by the miners, Balchunas noted in a post on X. He claimed the group is closer to surpassing Satoshi Nakamoto’s 1.1 million Bitcoin stash.
HOOVER CITY: Bitcoin ETFs took in a record-smashing $1.4b yesterday (the Trump effect). $IBIT alone was +$1.1b. That's +$6.7b in past mo and $25.5b YTD. All told they feasted on about 18k btc in one day (vs 450 mined) and are now 93% of the way to passing Satoshi's 1.1mil btc. pic.twitter.com/dNLoENlDB3
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) November 8, 2024
BlackRock’s IBIT inflows represent $6.7 billion in the past month and more than $25.5 billion year-to-date (YTD). These figures put BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF above many of the traditional ETFs in the United States. Notably, it is the third largest regarding inflows to 2024, CryptoSlate reported. Regarding year-to-date returns, IBIT is crowned the largest at 48.52%, a gain that far outpaces the other top 10 ETFs by flows.
Their daily inflows of more than $1 billion for IBIT surpassed the annual flows of most of the approximately 3,300 ETFs available in the U.S. market, except just 150 ETFs last Thursday. BlackRock, with more than $10 trillion in assets under management, is the world’s largest manager. The company offers a variety of mutual funds in global markets. Their Bitcoin-linked product, IBIT, launched in January, is one of its newest and most successful ETFs. Its gold ETF, IAU, was launched in 2005.
Renewed appetite for Bitcoin
IBIT accumulated $10 billion in assets within its first two months of trading, a milestone that took the first spot gold ETF approximately two years to achieve. Investors’ renewed appetite for Bitcoin ETFs could be due to expectations of a more cryptocurrency-friendly environment for Trump’s second term. It may also suggest that investors view cryptocurrency as an alternative investment asset, hedge, or haven for precious metals.
Analysts at JPMorgan anticipated ahead of the election that Bitcoin and gold could see gains following Trump’s victory and potentially motivated by increased interest in trading strategies based on inflation and debt concerns. On Wednesday, BlackRock’s IBIT saw a volume of more than $1 billion in its first 20 minutes of trading after news broke that Trump had defeated his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris in the past elections. The fund closed with more than $4 billion in trading volume, while the ETF group generated about $6 billion.