BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), a spot Bitcoin Exchange-traded fund (ETF), has achieved a significant milestone by surpassing 100,000 Bitcoins under its management. According to data from BlackRock, IBIT held 105,280 BTC on February 13, making it the first U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF to achieve this feat within just 22 days of trading. This accomplishment underscores BlackRock's aggressive approach towards Bitcoin acquisition since the launch of its spot Bitcoin ETF on January 11, 2024, alongside 10 other issuers.
Since its inception in January, BlackRock has substantially increased its holdings in the iShares Bitcoin Trust, witnessing a growth of over 3,700%, with assets under management soaring from a mere 2,621 Bitcoin on January 11 to 100,000 Bitcoin by February 13. Alongside IBIT, other spot Bitcoin ETFs like the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) have also been actively accumulating holdings, with FBTC holding 83,925 BTC as of February 13. Notably, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) stands out as the only spot Bitcoin ETF engaged in selling BTC, reducing its holdings by 25% from 619,220 BTC to 463,475 BTC by February 13.
The milestone in IBIT's BTC holdings coincides with the ETF's achievement of new highs in daily net inflows since its launch. The total daily inflows into the 10 spot Bitcoin ETFs amounted to $631.3 million, with the iShares Bitcoin ETF alone witnessing inflows of $493 million, as reported by Farside Investors. There have been indications suggesting that BlackRock may have faced challenges meeting the demand for substantial inflows into its iShares Bitcoin ETF, leading to instances where it had to purchase BTC from Coinbase due to OTC sellers being sold out of their tokens.
These developments occur amidst significant growth in the value of Bitcoin, which surpassed $51,000 for the first time since November 2021, after breaching the $50,000 mark on February 12. On February 14, Bitcoin reclaimed its position as a $1 trillion asset, marking such a capitalization for only the second time in the market's history. As of the latest update, Bitcoin is trading at $51,383, representing a more than 20% increase over the past 30 days, according to CoinGecko. This surge in value has coincided with a rise in the Crypto Fear and Greed Index to its highest levels since Bitcoin's all-time high of $69,000 in mid-November 2021.
