etfsbitBlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) has become the first among the recently introduced spot bitcoin products to reach $2 billion in assets under management (AUM). This achievement excludes Grayscale’s GBTC, which, during its conversion from a closed-end fund to a spot ETF, held nearly $30 billion in AUM, media reports said on Friday.
Investors displayed continued confidence in IBIT, contributing approximately $170 million to the fund on Thursday. As a result, the ETF acquired an additional 4,300 bitcoins, bringing the total tokens held to 49,952. The surge in the price of bitcoin, surpassing the $40,000 mark early on Friday, propelled IBIT’s AUM above the $2 billion threshold.
With its AUM now exceeding $2 billion, IBIT ranks thirdetfbitcoinla among the more than 600 ETFs launched in the past year. ETF Store president Nate Geraci suggests that IBIT has the potential to claim the top position in asset gathering, outpacing its competitors.
The next contender to reach the $2 billion milestone is anticipated to be Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), currently holding just under 44,000 bitcoins as of January 25.
Meanwhile, the collective flows into recently launched spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have experienced combined negative movements for the first time since their inauguration on January 11. Notably, the influx of funds into products like IBIT and FBTC has not matched the withdrawals from Grayscale’s GBTC.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart reports a net outflow of $158 million from the 10 spot bitcoin ETFs, including GBTC, on Wednesday. While day-to-day flows can be volatile, data compiled by CoinDesk indicates a decrease in total bitcoin held by all spot ETFs (GBTC included) to about 649,000 as of January 24, compared to over 660,000 a week earlier—a decline of approximately 11,000 tokens.
Among the 10 funds, only GBTC experienced negative flows during the week, witnessing a decrease in total bitcoin in trust from 592,098 to 523,516. In contrast, BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC have emerged as leaders, each holding over 40,000 bitcoins as of January 24, a notable increase from 20,000-25,000 a week prior. Both funds are also approaching the $2 billion AUM mark.
Despite a recent slowdown in inflows over the past week, the net inflows for the 10 spot ETFs since their launch on January 11 remain substantial. According to calculations by Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas, total dollar inflows amount to $824 million, corresponding to a net addition of approximately 17,000-20,000 bitcoins.
