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IBIT saw over $500M in inflows between February 27 and 29.
The US spot BTC ETFs have been a phenomenal narrative theme behind Bitcoin’s recent price appreciation. Notably, the spot ETFs have broken crucial records in February, with Blackrock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) showing exemplary upward performance since the launch.
According to Bloomberg’s Senior ETF Analyst, Eric Balchunas, Blackrock’s IBIT is now among the top 3 US ETFs by flows.
More wild stats: $IBIT makes up 0.2% of BlackRock's ETF lineup but has accounted for 42% of its net flows this year. $FBTC makes up 2% of Fidelity's ETF lineup but has accounted for 64% of its net ETF flows this year.
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) February 29, 2024
Eric noted that IBIT only accounted for a paltry 0.2% of Blackrock’s ETF lineup (+400 ETFs in the US). But it has driven 42% of the firm’s overall net flow in 2024. Fidelity’s FBTC had the same wild statistics. FBTC was behind 64% of Fidelity’s net flow, yet it accounted for only 2% of the firm’s ETF portfolio.
For perspective, IBIT saw over $500M in inflows between February 27 and 29. It hit a record daily inflow of $612M on February 28, bringing the Year-to-Date (YTD) total flow to $7.75B, as per Fairside Investors’ data. During the same period, IBIT hit daily trading volume records above $1B.
Fidelity’s FBTC recorded YTD flows of $4.77B, second only to Blackrock’s IBIT. However, when zoomed out and compared to the top US ETF by YTD flows, IBIT was number three. The first and second US ETFs were iShares Core and S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), each commanding above $15B in YTD flows.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart noted that Vanguard’s VOO YTD flows were twice that of Blackrock’s IBIT, a norm that indicated the firm wasn’t suffering from its decision to deny spot BTC ETF.
(These are the top 3 ETFs in the US by flows)
BlackRock's $IVV
Vanguards $VOO
BlackRock's $IBIT
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) February 29, 2024
However, Tim Buckley, the Vanguard CEO, will reportedly step down at the end of the year. Following the new development, Eric Balchunas quickly highlighted that Vanguard’s position on spot BTC ETF could change with time.
Blackrock’s IBIT Hit $10B AUM in 7 Weeks
According to Bitmex Research data, IBIT’s flow of $603.9M on February 29 tipped it to hit $10B in assets under management (AUM). As such, Blackrock’s IBIT crossed the $10B assets milestone in less than two months. It translates to about 162.67K BTC worth of AUM.
In the meantime, BTC prices whipsawed above $60K following a massive GBTC outflow of around $600M on February 29. At the time of writing, it traded at $62.1K, up +43% in February and only $7K away from its 2021 all-time high (ATH) of $69K.
