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BlackRock Bought 9x More Bitcoin Than Was Mined Yesterday
- Inflows into Bitcoin ETFs surged by over US$300m in one day this week.
- BlackRock’s IBIT ETF saw the most gains, adding US$290m in Bitcoin, to challenge Greyscale’s Bitcoin Trust as the world’s largest Bitcoin ETF.
While all eyes have been on Ethereum’s price rise driven by imminent regulatory approval of ETH ETFs, investor funds have been pouring into Bitcoin Spot ETFs—a massive US$305.7 million of inflows were seen on May 21, the highest one-day total so far this month.
Leading the charge was BlackRock’s popular iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which now holds over US$19.7 billion in Bitcoin after inflows of US$290m (AU$439m) on Tuesday.
Related: Glassnode Report Suggests Big Price Move Ahead For Crypto, Despite Moderate Capital Flow
BlackRock’s IBIT Set To Overtake Greyscale ETF
The massive inflows this week further distinguish BlackRock’s IBIT as the leading Bitcoin ETF, set to overtake Greyscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) as the largest spot BTC ETF. At the time of writing, GBTC’s product page lists its funds under management at US$19.4 billion.
Related: Grayscale ETF Outflows Slow Down, as BlackRock’s IBIT Takes in $15 Billion in Cash
BlackRock’s BTC purchases on 21 May equated to 9X the amount of BTC mined in the same day:
Data published by Farside Investors shows total inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs has exceeded US$13.3 billion.
Tumultuous Journey To Game-Changing ETFs
Expanded investor exposure to Bitcoin, and now Ethereum, via exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is clearly a huge positive for crypto markets in terms of legitimising the asset class and capturing market share. It’s a journey that’s been over a decade in the making—the Winklevoss twins were the first to propose the idea of a Bitcoin ETF back in 2017. Years of rejections by the SEC of similar proposals followed.
It wasn’t until January this year that eleven spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved by the SEC. Since then, previously ambivalent financial institutions—including BlackRock—have taken advantage of Bitcoin’s popularity among retail investors. By February, Bitcoin-based ETFs had set new record in trading volume and inflows, with IBIT leading the way. By March trading volumes hit a new high of over US$10b, again led by IBIT.
Questions abound about the potential supply-demand discrepancy that strong bitcoin ETF interest could generate, and how it will affect the price.
Additionally, it’s yet to be seen how the fever pitch excitement over ETH ETFs will influence sentiment or if the SEC’s decision has already been priced in. Recent analysis shows ETH prices have kept pace with supply, although Ethereum co-founder Jeffrey Wilcke’s recent move to cash out around 10,000 ETH was seen as a sell signal by some.
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Author
Jody McDonald
Jody is a Brisbane-based freelance writer who specialises in writing about business, technology, and the future of work.
