In Brief
- BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) attracted a record $1.1 billion in net inflows last week.
- IBIT surpassed $70 billion in assets under management, a milestone achieved faster than any other ETF in its industry’s history.
- Financial advisors increasingly recommend Bitcoin ETFs to clients, signaling broader institutional adoption.
After a brief pause in late May and early June, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin (IBIT) ETF returned to its previous rapid pace of inflows, recording approximately $1.1 billion in net investments over the final week of May.
The fund has achieved remarkable success since its inception, surpassing $70 billion in assets under management within just 341 days. This feat, accomplished faster than any ETF in the 32-year history of the exchange-traded fund industry, underscores both BlackRock’s substantial brand recognition and the accelerating acceptance of cryptocurrency by traditional finance.
The surge in popularity reflects growing comfort among investment advisors and institutions, enabled partly by a more favorable regulatory environment under the current administration. Bitcoin’s price performance, recently exceeding $105,000 (a 12% gain year-to-date), which outpaces traditional equities, has further fueled investor interest.
“Advisors and institutions adopting this quickly is a good sign because these are bigger, more sophisticated players,” noted Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg’s Senior ETF Analyst.
Furthermore, regulatory filings indicate institutional adoption is accelerating. Investment advisors, responsible for filing 13-F reports to the SEC, currently hold approximately 20% ($21 billion) of IBIT shares. Analysts predict this institutional stake could double within the next 12 months, potentially reaching 30-40%, as firms like wirehouses gain access to these products.
Financial advisors are increasingly educating themselves and clients about Bitcoin ETFs to meet client demand and capture assets previously flowing elsewhere. Surveys show nearly 20% of advisors plan allocations to client portfolios in 2025, double the percentage from the year prior.
Industry experts like Ric Edelman suggest advisors are increasingly comfortable recommending a crypto allocation, proposing allocations ranging from 10% to 40% depending on risk tolerance, fundamentally altering the traditional 60-40 stock-bond split model for some portfolios.
BlackRock’s IBIT benefits from its established brand, making it the preferred choice for institutional first-movers seeking familiar, regulated access to digital assets.
Specialists like Sumit Roy also anticipate ongoing growth, citing ETFs as the optimal vehicle for risk-averse investors seeking exposure without direct custody responsibilities.
