BlackRock 'gaga' over spot bitcoin fund that accounts for 24% of firm's total ETF flows: analyst

Quick Take

  • Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas said BlackRock is “gaga” when it comes to its highly-successful spot bitcoin ETF.
  • BlackRock’s spot bitcoin fund accounts for 24% of the firm’s total ETF flows globally, according to the analyst.

Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas is convinced BlackRock is thrilled with the success of its spot bitcoin ETF, ticker IBIT, and backed up his assertion with some compelling data.

"I know they're gaga over this IBIT, I mean this ETF IBIT is 24% of all of their flows out of 1,000 ETFs globally," Balchunas said Wednesday during a online panel discussion about Hong Kong's recently approved spot crypto ETFs. "You know that's getting the attention of even Larry Fink."

Fink is CEO of BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager. Balchunas, who analyzes ETFs for Bloomberg, has established himself as one of the most vocal commentators weighing in on the crypto-based spot bitcoin ETFs, which launched in the U.S. earlier this year.

After BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF began trading in January, it attracted inflows for more than 70 days, making it one of the most successful exchange-traded funds in history. The financial instrument, which allows investors to wager on the price of bitcoin without having to buy it themselves, currently has more than $18 billion in assets under management, according to the fund's info page.

The IBIT exchange-traded fund is second only to Grayscale's fund in terms of AUM. Grayscale's ETF, however, is a converted product that launched with tens of billions of dollars in AUM.

RELATED INDICES

Overall, in terms of total trading volume, all the spot bitcoin ETFs currently trading have generated significant interest from investors. So far, the cumulative trading volume for all spot bitcoin ETFs is nearly $230 billion, according to The Block Data Dashboard.

After Grayscale and BlackRock, Fidelity's spot bitcoin ETF has been the most successful in terms of trading volume and AUM.

 

 


Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

RT Watson is a senior reporter at The Block who covers a wide array of topics including U.S.-based companies, blockchain gaming and NFTs. Formerly covered entertainment at The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote about Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. and the creator economy while focusing primarily on technological disruption across media. Previous to that he covered corporate, economic and political news in Brazil while at Bloomberg. RT has interviewed a diverse cast of characters including CEOs, media moguls, top influencers, politicians, blue-collar workers, drug traffickers and convicted criminals. Holds a master's degree in Digital Sociology.

Editor

To contact the editor of this story:
Jason Shubnell at
[email protected]