BlackRock’s New Bitcoin ETF Debuts Strong, Holding Over $120 Million in BTC

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Trent Alan

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Trent Alan

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Trent has a background and education in journalism and communications, with two decades of experience editing and writing on a diverse array of topics. In recent years, however, he has shifted his...

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January 12, 2024 13:56 EST

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BlackRock’s new spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is off to a powerful start, holding 2,620 bitcoins worth over $120 million after just one day of trading. The ETF, trading under the ticker IBIT, saw immense trading volume on its first day worth $1 billion.

BlackRock Leads the Bitcoin ETF Pack with Market-Topping Trading Volume

BlackRock’s ETF was one of 11 spot bitcoin ETFs approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday evening. The approvals marked the first time spot bitcoin ETFs were permitted to launch in the US, ending a long streak of rejections stretching back over a decade.

All told there were 700,000 individual trades today in and out of the 11 spot ETFs. For context, that is double the number of trades for $QQQ (altho it sees much bigger $ volume bc bigger fish use it) So a lot more grassroots action (vs big seed buys) than I expected which is… pic.twitter.com/syUGfjHQpr

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 11, 2024

Industry observers had anxiously awaited the SEC’s decision for months. When the approvals finally came through, issuers moved swiftly to bring their ETFs to market the very next day. Investors responded enthusiastically, trading over $4.6 billion worth of shares on the first day.

Among the approved issuers, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) came out on top as an early leader, racking up over $1 billion in trading volume. As the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock was widely expected to see strong demand for its Bitcoin ETF.

Experts point out that this week’s launch of Bitcoin spot ETFs has opened the floodgates for billions of dollars in institutional capital to start flowing into the crypto market. For BlackRock, being first out of the gate with a top-performing product places them in a prime position to capitalize on this surging demand.

BlackRock CEO Hints at Ethereum ETF Next

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has been vocal about his support for Bitcoin leading up to the launch. He sees it as a potential store of value akin to gold. Fink has also hinted at expanding BlackRock’s crypto offerings, floating the possibility of an Ethereum ETF.

You gotta give this boomer his credit. He stepped into crypto in June 2023 and said hold my beer. Completely dominated the narrative for 7 months. Now he’s about to run it exactly back with ETH. Impressive.

BLACKROCK CEO FINK SAYS SEE VALUE IN HAVING AN ETHEREUM ETF – RTRS

— Travis Kling (@Travis_Kling) January 12, 2024

For now, the success of BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF could be seen as a confirmation that top Wall Street firms are eager to tap into the growth potential of digital assets. With Bitcoin going mainstream, the door is now wide open for financial innovation on top of crypto’s foundation. For investors, this new era promises exciting opportunities with the continued institutional adoption of digital currencies.