BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) experienced a significant milestone as it marked its first day of zero inflows since the launch of Bitcoin ETFs in the United States back in January.
Since its inauguration on January 11, IBIT had been consistently drawing in millions of dollars in daily investments, amassing a staggering total of approximately $15.5 billion in just 71 days. However, BlackRock’s impressive streak came to a halt, recording no inflows for the day.
The dry spell wasn’t exclusive to IBIT, as most other participants in the Bitcoin ETF arena also felt the pinch. Out of the 11 Bitcoin ETFs registered in the U.S., only Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and ARK’s 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) managed to see inflows of $5.6 million and $4.2 million, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) continued to face challenges, reporting $130.4 million in outflows on April 24 alone, contributing to a net outflow of $120.6 million for spot Bitcoin ETFs on that day.
Although IBIT had previously never experienced a day without inflows, similar occurrences have been observed among ETF participants before. For instance, Fidelity’s FBTC had seen three days of zero inflows within the last two weeks.
As of now, the Bitcoin ETF market in the U.S. has amassed a net total of $12.3 billion in Bitcoin. However, the outflows from GBTC have offset some of the inflows recorded by the other ten Bitcoin ETFs, surpassing $17 billion since January 11.
Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst, praised the remarkable 71-day streak of continuous inflows to the IBIT ETF.
The fund’s achievement has propelled it to surpass benchmarks such as the Global Jets ETF, as well as Vanguard’s bond market ETF and developed-markets ETF, which Balchunas referred to as “one-hit wonders” and “cash vacuum cleaners.”
While BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF now ranks among the top ten funds of all time by yet another metric, Balchunas emphasized that there is still “a lot of mountain left to climb” to reach the pinnacle.
JPMorgan’s Equity Premium Income ETF holds the record for the longest inflow streak of any ETF, lasting 160 days. With assets totaling $18.27 billion, BlackRock’s Bitcoin fund stands in the top 3% of all ETFs ever created.
The success of the ETF can be attributed to institutions gradually increasing their exposure to Bitcoin. However, Balchunas noted that Bitcoin is not a significant component of these companies’ strategies but rather serves as “hot sauce” on top of larger portfolios.
He remarked, “Shows that most of the bites are nibbles but there are a lot of fish.”
However, not all of BlackRock’s cryptocurrency endeavors have seen immediate success. The company’s tokenized fund, BUIDL, which debuted on the Ethereum blockchain on March 20, has attracted only a few investors thus far.
Despite BUIDL’s rapid 200% growth in a matter of weeks, on-chain data reveals that the majority of the fund’s assets are dispersed among 11 wallets.
