BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust Surpasses Competition
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust has emerged as the world’s largest fund for Bitcoin, amassing a staggering total of nearly $20 billion in assets since its inception in the United States earlier this year. According to data compiled by HODL15Capital, the exchange-traded fund held $19.68 billion worth of Bitcoin on Tuesday, overtaking Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s $19.65 billion position. Following closely, Fidelity Investments holds the third-largest spot with an offering of $11.1 billion.
“The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs marked a significant milestone for the crypto industry, making Bitcoin more accessible to investors and sparking a rally that saw the token reach a record high of $73,798 by March.”
Since its launch, the iShares Bitcoin Trust has attracted impressive inflows, totaling $16.5 billion. In contrast, investors withdrew $17.7 billion from the Grayscale fund during the same period. Possible reasons for the outflows from Grayscale include higher fees and exits by arbitragers.
“Grayscale has expressed its intention to launch a clone of its main fund, which is expected to have lower fees, according to a March regulatory filing.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first US spot-Bitcoin ETFs in January following a court reversal in 2023 in a case instigated by Grayscale. Originally created in 2013, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust became widely recognized as the largest vehicle of its kind. However, trading of shares often deviated significantly from its net asset value, prompting Grayscale’s transition into an ETF for trading at par.
“The group of Bitcoin funds, with a total of $58.5 billion in assets to date, has been hailed as one of the most successful new categories of ETFs.”
