BlackRock's Spot Bitcoin ETF Hits New Milestone In Inflows Streak

BlackRock's IBIT has made a statement in the spot Bitcoin ETF space as it completed its 70-day inflow streak Tuesday. Marco Verch/flickr

KEY POINTS

BlackRock's IBIT recorded its 70th consecutive day of inflows Tuesday
IBIT is still a long way from beating JPMorgan's JEPI, which has a 160-day streak
BlackRock has become the only BTC ETF issuer with a streak of unbroken inflows

Asset management giant BlackRock's spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has hit a new milestone in inflows and is moving toward JPMorgan's Equity Premium Income's (JEPI) 160-day streak.

BlackRock's IBIT inflows saw growth for the 70^th day straight, and has only seen more deposits than withdrawals since it started reporting spot BTC ETF flows on Jan. 12. It has now joined the top 10 list of ETF daily inflow streaks since 2004, as per Decrypt.

While the milestone is significant, especially in the spot Bitcoin ETF circle, IBIT's streak is still around halfway through in beating JPMorgan's JEPI or Vanguard's Total International Bond ETF (BNDX), which has a 105-day streak. On the other hand, it is now tied with U.S. Global Jets' ETF (JETS), and is just two days away from toppling Dimensional's U.S. Core Equity 2 ETF (DFAC), which has a 72-day streak.

$IBIT inflow streak currently at 69 DAYS. one more day and it moves into Top 10 and ties $JETS (a streak I was equally as fascinated by) altho streak ending today would be pretty hilarious, show financial gods have sense of humor via @thetrinianalyst pic.twitter.com/niDzfaKqgp
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) April 22, 2024

During downtime in Bitcoin ETFs last week, IBIT survived the beating as it continued to see inflows while other major issuers, such as Grayscale, suffered significant outflows. In fact, Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) BTC holdings have "halved" since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the offering.

When Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) saw $0 inflows earlier this month, IBIT became the only spot BTC ETF with an unbroken inflows streak since the product began trading. Other Bitcoin ETFs, on the other hand, have either seen similar zero inflows or there were occasional outflows that appear to have become the normal environment in the spot Bitcoin ETF space.

Due to being two of the most popular issuers since January, BlackRock's IBIT and Grayscale's GBTC have often been compared. Some analysts have noted that one possible reason for GBTC outflows and IBIT inflows is the fee. Whereas GBTC has a 1.5% fee, IBIT charges 0.12% for its management fee.

Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas weighed in on IBIT's growth, suggesting that the gradual embrace of the offering by traditional institutions could be playing a role. He recently shared that there are some significant traditional firms that hold shares of BlackRock's spot BTC ETF.

Updated look at the holders of $IBIT, there's about 30 of them so far (mostly funds and advisors) accounting for 0.2% of shares out which means this is tippy tip of iceberg (context: BITO has 42% of shares reported via 13F). Also shows lot of "nibbling" going on as evidenced by… pic.twitter.com/X7AMCw5CR3
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) April 16, 2024

The list includes banks across Brazil and the United Kingdom. Balchunas did point out that it could be too early to celebrate since traditional financial institutions appear to still be "nibbling" on the new product, considering the low percentage of IBIT shares in the entities' portfolios.