On Friday, the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first among recently launched spot bitcoin products to reach $2 billion in assets under management (AUM).
It’s important to note that this figure excludes Grayscale’s GBTC, which had an AUM of nearly $30 billion when it converted from a closed-end fund to a spot ETF.
Investors contributed approximately $170 million to IBIT on Thursday, leading the fund to acquire nearly 4,300 bitcoin (BTC). This boosted the total tokens held by the fund to 49,952. The surge in the price of bitcoin, surpassing the $40,000 level early Friday, propelled the AUM to exceed $2 billion.
With its AUM now surpassing $2 billion, IBIT ranks third in asset gathering among more than 600 ETFs launched in the past year. Nate Geraci, the president of ETF Store, anticipates that IBIT could soon claim the top spot, surpassing all others.
The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) is expected to be the next fund to cross the $2 billion mark, currently holding just under 44,000 bitcoin as of January 25th. This achievement signifies the growing popularity and investment interest in Bitcoin-focused ETFs within the financial landscape.
