BlackRock’s IBIT Passes 700,000 BTC, Reaches $75.6B Market Value
According to Glassnode data, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has surpassed the 700,000 BTC threshold, just over a year and a half since its launch in January 2024. This milestone places its assets under management at approximately $75.6 billion, as estimated by CoinGecko data.
The Bitcoin ETF has climbed to become the third most profitable fund by revenue for the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock. It now outperforms the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM), both of which launched nearly 25 years ago in 2000 and manage larger total assets despite charging lower expense ratios.
Coming on the heels of significant inflows, total assets increased by $52.8 million over the past two weeks, positioning IBIT significantly ahead of its closest competitor, Fidelity’s FBTC, which saw inflows of just $12.3 million during the same period.
What it means for traders
Experts suggest IBIT’s prominence may be dampening Bitcoin’s volatility. Rajiv Sawhney, Head of International Portfolio Management at Wave Digital Assets International, noted that the “investment base buying the ETF is more typical of buy-and-hold investors,” which contributes to lower realized and implied volatility.
Sawhney identified the popularity of funds like BlackRock’s IBIT as a potential factor in this trend, suggesting a challenge for volatility-dependent market participants. He anticipates this trend may persist through the summer, potentially shifting trader focus towards other crypto-related equities.
