BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) has become the fastest-growing ETF in history, with more than $30 billion in assets under management.
“IBIT reached the $30 billion milestone in just 293 days, setting a new record,” said Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg.
“This speed exceeds the growth rate of JPMorgan’s JEPI and major gold ETFs, which reached the $30 billion threshold in 1,272 and 1,790 days, respectively.”
At the same time, IBIT is expected to surpass gold ETFs in January.
With the massive inflows and rising BTC prices on October 29, IBIT’s market valuation exceeded $30 billion, according to Bloomberg data.
The fund currently holds more than 417,000 BTC, or about 2% of the total BTC supply.
BTC community member Sani pointed out that if BlackRock's IBIT fund continues its current growth momentum, the fund may accumulate up to 500,000 BTC by the end of 2024.
If this goal is achieved, IBIT will become the world's third-largest BTC holder, second only to Coinbase and Binance.
The success of BlackRock's ETF coincides with the surge in institutional demand for BTC.
As of October 29, ETFs reported a cumulative daily net inflow of $870 million, with BlackRock's IBIT leading the way.
Other leading funds also saw strong interest, with Fidelity’s FBTC receiving $133.86 million in net inflows, while Bitwise’s BITB attracted $52.49 million.
Meanwhile, VanEck’s HODL, Ark, and 21Shares’ ARKB recorded inflows of $16.52 million and $12.39 million, respectively.
The remaining spot BTC ETFs saw no inflows on the day.
ETF Store President Nate Geraci highlighted that this level of inflows marks the third-highest average daily inflows for spot BTC ETFs since their launch in January.
According to research firm Crypto Quant, these impressive numbers reflect a broad trend of institutional interest in BTC.
The firm’s founder and CEO Ki YoungJu noted that approximately 278,000 BTC, mostly from retail investors, have flowed into U.S. spot ETFs over the past year.
During the same period, about 670,000 BTC flowed into "whale" wallets holding more than 1,000 BTC, not including wallets in exchanges and mining.
"This trend shows that institutional demand for custodial wallets is about twice that of retail investors," Ju explained.
The surge highlights the expanding role of institutional investors in the BTC market, with large funds such as BlackRock's IBIT taking the lead.