Blackrock’s IBIT bucks trend as outflows dominate rival BTC, ETH ETFs

As of October 13, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) posted net inflows of $60.4 million for the day, while other Bitcoin ETFs struggled with outflows. Fidelity’s FBTC recorded outflows of $93.3 million, as well as Bitwise’s NITB and Ark Investments ARKB with $115.6 million and $21.1 million outflows, respectively.

Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a total net outflow of $327 million on Monday, with IBIT being the only fund to post a net inflow for 10 consecutive days. Ethereum spot ETFs also recorded a total net outflow of $429 million, marking the third consecutive day of outflows.

IBIT Bitcoin holdings surpass Strategy’s treasury holdings

IBIT’s strong inflows show its growing dominance in the ETF space as investors have increasingly favored the fund for its consistent liquidity. The strong institutional backing and inflows also suggest that long-term confidence in Bitcoin remains strong despite short-term volatility.

The increased outflows in Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs indicate a cooling sentiment among institutional investors, following strong inflows through September. Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs appear to be cooling off, with signs of hesitation. 

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF has already accumulated over $65.61 billion as of October 14, according to its latest fund disclosures. On-chain data revealed that IBIT currently holds approximately 804,944 BTC in its holdings, valued at over $91.8 billion at current Bitcoin prices of $114,000 per BTC.

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF has surpassed the leading BTC treasury company, Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which currently holds around 640,031 BTC, worth roughly $73 billion at current BTC prices. IBIT now accounts for roughly 4.2% of Bitcoin’s total 21 million supply, while Strategy’s treasury reserve accounts for 3.1% of total supply.

IBIT surpassed the 500,000 BTC threshold last December and became the third-largest U.S. ETF instrument in its first year. As the fund surpassed the 250,000 BTC mark in March 2024, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink stated that IBIT is the fastest-growing ETF in the history of ETFs. He also acknowledged his surprise at how much the price of Bitcoin had increased.

At the time of publication, Bitcoin is exchanging hands at around $111,832, down 2.8% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin also plummeted nearly 10% in the last seven days, following the digital asset market’s drop over the weekend.

Last week, BlackRock’s BTC ETF saw a significant $2.63 billion in net inflows, marking the highest weekly inflow for any Bitcoin spot ETF. IBIT accounted for the majority of the $2.71 billion in inflows between October 6 and October 10. 

BlackRock Ethereum spot ETF (ETHA) recorded $310.1 million outflows on Monday, followed by Fidelity’s FETH and Bitwise’s ETHW with $19.1 million and $12.8 million outflows on the same day, respectively. The total ETH sports ETF outflows on October 13 stood at $428.5 million, with total outflows to date exceeding $14.5 billion.

Ethereum spot ETFs recorded a total trading volume of $2.82 billion with net assets of $28,75 billion, which represents 5.56% of Ethereum’s market cap at current prices. At the time of publication, Ethereum is exchanging hands around $4,006, down nearly 3.5% in the last 24 hours. ETH has also dropped by 14.27% in the last 7 days following the record crypto crash over the weekend.

Crypto markets sell off over the weekend

The Friday-to-Sunday sell-off of digital assets was fueled partly by the heightened U.S.-China trade war, which triggered a wave of forced liquidations across exchanges. Bitcoin plummeted from $116,000 to under $110,000 within minutes after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened 100% tariffs on China in response to its aggressive stance on export controls.

“The extreme volatility in the price of Bitcoin overnight highlights why institutional investors increasingly view access to 24/7 liquidity as essential to prudent risk management.”

-Tommy Doyle, Global Head of Client Management at Xapo Bank.

The market crash triggered one of the largest single-day wipeouts in cryptocurrency history, resulting in roughly $19 billion in liquidations within a matter of hours. The crash sparked concerns about the limited trading of BTC ETFs.

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