BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) has become the fastest growing ETF in history, with over $30 billion in assets under management.
IBIT reached this milestone in just 293 days, setting a new record, according to Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. This pace outpaces the growth rates of the JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI) and the major gold ETFs, which reach the $30 billion mark in 1,272 and 1,790 days, respectively. crypto slate predicted that ETFs would outperform gold ETFs in January.
IBIT's market valuation has now exceeded $30 billion following significant capital inflows and rising Bitcoin prices on October 29, according to Bloomberg data. The fund currently holds over 417,000 Bitcoins, which is approximately 2% of the total Bitcoin supply.
Sani, a member of the Bitcoin community, observed that BlackRock's IBIT could accumulate up to 500,000 Bitcoins by the end of 2024 if current growth continues. If this is achieved, IBIT will become the third largest Bitcoin holder in the world after Coinbase and Binance.
Growing demand from institutional investors
The success of BlackRock's ETF coincides with a surge in institutional demand for Bitcoin.
As of Oct. 29, these ETFs were reporting cumulative daily net inflows of $870 million, with BlackRock's IBIT leading the way in inflows. Other leading funds have also shown strong interest, with Fidelity's FBTC seeing net inflows of $133.86 million and Bitwise's BITB receiving $52.49 million.
Meanwhile, Van Eck's HODL, Arc, and 21Shares' ARKB recorded inflows of $16.52 million and $12.39 million, respectively. The remaining Spot Bitcoin ETFs had no inflows on the day.
Nate Geraci, president of ETF Store, highlighted that this level of inflows is the third-highest daily inflow for the Spot Bitcoin ETF since its launch in January.
According to research firm CryptoQuant, these impressive numbers reflect broader trends in institutional investor interest in Bitcoin.
Ki Yong-joo, the company's founder and CEO, pointed out that over the past year, approximately 278,000 BTC has flowed into the US spot ETF, mainly from individual investors.
During the same period, approximately 670,000 BTC, excluding those from exchanges and mining pools, were moved to “whale” wallets holding more than 1,000 BTC. This trend shows that the demand for custodial wallets by institutional investors is about twice as high as that by retail investors, Zhu explained.
The surge highlights the growing role of institutional investors in the Bitcoin market, with large funds such as BlackRock's IBIT.
