The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF IBIT by BlackRock Inc. BLK, which debuted earlier this year, has become the most successful exchange-traded fund launch in history, a report said Monday.
What Happened: The investment vehicle, which tracks the spot price of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency Bitcoin BTC/USD, exceeded $50 billion in assets under management within its debut year, an unprecedented feat in the 30-year history of ETFs, according to Bloomberg.
IBIT clocked the $50 billion mark five times faster than the next quickest ETF, BlackRock’s own iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF IEFA, which took nearly four years to achieve the same milestone, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated recently.
IBIT also held more assets than BlackRock’s Gold ETF, namely, iShares Gold Trust IAU, as of this writing. Balchunas saw a strong possibility of IBIT beating SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world’s biggest gold ETF, as early as Jan. 11 to become the “king of store of value ETFs.”
Why It Matters: This record-breaking performance by IBIT occurred in a momentous year when spot cryptocurrency ETFs made their debut on Wall Street.
As many as 12 spot ETFs were listed early in January, serving as key drivers for Bitcoin’s record surge beyond $100,000.
While still far behind, Balchunas felt IBIT could exceed SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, the oldest and largest ETF in the U.S. with $637 billion in AUM, but warned that the process would take time.
Price Action: Shares of IBIT closed 0.24% lower at $53.55 during Monday's regular session, according to data from Benzinga Pro. As of this writing, Bitcoin exchanged hands at $93,940.67, up 0.22% in the last 24 hours.
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