BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund ($IBIT) recorded its third-largest inflow, at $272 million, on the seventh day of live trading, according to data published by Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart.
The ETF had previously posted its largest inflow so far on day two of live trading at $386 million. Its second-highest inflow was recorded two days after the first, at $371.4 million.
Since its launch on Thursday, January 11, 2024, BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF has demonstrated substantial trading volumes, emerging as the top-performing ETF among recently approved ones. It was the first of the new spot Bitcoin ETFs to surpass $1 billion in assets under management (AUM).
Update: BlackRock’s numbers are in for the #Bitcoin ETF Cointucky derby. Third biggest inflow day for $IBIT yet at $272 million. Only -$76 million in net outflows for the day. https://t.co/ySE0edbz4c pic.twitter.com/RzgH6qn5Md
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 23, 2024
Meanwhile, the collective assets under management for all recently deployed ETF issuers approached $19 billion on the seventh day of trading. Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund closely follows BlackRock’s iShares and is the second to surpass the $1 billion AUM threshold. The ETF also reported $158.7 million in net flows over the seven-day trading period.
Following $IBIT and $FBTC are Bitwise Bitcoin ETF ($BITB), Ark 21 Shares Bitcoin ETF ($ARKB), and Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin Fund ($BITD) with net flows of $41.6 million, $65.0 million, and $5.6 million, respectively. These three issuers also reported substantial assets under management of $448.8 billion, $428.4 billion, and $254.3 billion on their seventh day of trading.
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While BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust stands out as a top performer, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Shares (GBTC), which has the highest assets under management at $10.09 billion, faced challenges.
Seyffart also reported that GBTC saw a significant outflow of $640.5 million in investment on the seventh day of its trading. This adds up to $3.4 billion in outflows for the ETF in the past seven days. When the live trading resumed on January 12, 2024, the ETF recorded a substantial outflow of over $1.1 billion within the first three days of trading.
ETF selling became a major Bitcoin price driver
The importance of these flows has grown considerably since the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. Before 2024, institutional investors looking for regulated Bitcoin exposure had fewer straightforward options. The arrival of spot ETFs created a much easier route for pension funds, wealth managers, hedge funds and other professional investors to gain exposure.
As a result, ETF flows increasingly became an important indicator of institutional demand. When billions of dollars enter the products, ETF issuers need to acquire more Bitcoin to back those shares. When investors redeem shares, the opposite pressure can occur.
That does not mean every dollar of ETF inflows or outflows translates directly into an equivalent Bitcoin purchase or sale at the same moment, but the scale of the products means flows can have a meaningful effect on market liquidity and sentiment.
By August, Bitcoin had recovered above $80,000, while IBIT posted a seven-day winning streak and climbed nearly 26% during the period.
The recovery suggests that institutional demand has not disappeared. Instead, investors appear to be responding to changing macroeconomic conditions and Bitcoin’s price rather than permanently abandoning the asset.
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