BlackRock buys $3.85b Bitcoin as IBIT overtakes S&P 500 fund in earnings

BlackRock continued its aggressive Bitcoin accumulation through June, adding billions to its holdings as demand for its spot ETF showed no signs of slowing down.

According to blockchain intelligence platform Arkham, BlackRock ramped up its Bitcoin purchases in June, accumulating approximately $3.85 billion worth of BTC over the course of the month.

The billion-dollar acquisition came in several parts throughout the month, including a $1.4 billion purchase spread over six consecutive days.

BlackRock’s BTC bet isn’t happening in isolation. The steady accumulation aligns with the growing success of its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which continues to dominate the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF space. Per a July 2 Bloomberg report, IBIT is now generating more annual revenue than BlackRock’s long-standing S&P 500 ETF, IVV.

Launched in January 2024, IBIT has grown its assets under management (AUM) to over $52.4 billion, holding more than 55% of all assets in the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market. It also accounts for 96% of net inflows across all Bitcoin ETFs to date, consistently topping daily funds flows among the ten approved products.

Despite its AUM still sitting well below IVV’s $624 billion in total assets, the Bitcoin fund has turned into a bigger moneymaker for the world’s largest asset manager. Thanks to its 0.25% expense ratio, IBIT has earned $187.2 million in annual fees, surpassing the $187.1 million brought in by IVV, which charges just 0.03%.

IBIT also recently celebrated the milestone of becoming the fastest exchange-traded fund in history to surpass $70 billion in assets under management. The trust crossed the $70 billion mark in just 341 days, five times faster than the previous record of 1,691 days set by the SPDR Gold Shares ETF.

As of now, BlackRock’s BTC portfolio holds over 696,874 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $80.7 billion at current market prices.