BlackRock’s $26b Bitcoin ETF crowned fastest growing fund

Wall Street’s demand for Bitcoin products surged last week, with $1.1 billion in new cash captured by BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

Bitcoin (BTC) has become a major focus for U.S. wealth management heavyweight BlackRock as its spot Bitcoin ETF outpaced several traditional finance offerings.

Investors have injected $26 billion into BlackRock’s IBIT, 10 months after spot Bitcoin ETFs debuted in mid-January. The fund has broken into the top 2% of all ETFs in the U.S., and last week’s inflows marked another milestone for BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF.

BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for half of the $2.2 billion in inflows recorded by U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs between Oct. 14 and Oct. 18. The $1.1 billion inflows buoyed IBIT to the third highest flows year-to-date. It was also IBIT’s best week since March, confirming its status as the fastest-growing ETF on Wall Street, and in financial history.

The success of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs has garnered consistent media attention and sparked policy discussions around Bitcoin as an asset. While similar discussions surround Ethereum (ETH) spot Ether ETFs have seen more modest milestones compared to their Bitcoin counterparts.

BlackRock’s IBIT alone overshadowed the $7.35 billion deposited into the entire spot Ethereum ETF array. However, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan believes Ethereum ETFs will ultimately succeed.

Hougan noted that while issuers may have brought Ethereum ETFs to market too early, Ethereum’s expanding ecosystem and appeal to institutional investors through its smart contract capabilities will likely attract more capital to ETH funds in the coming years.

Existing crypto funds have also encouraged new filings for digital asset ETFs. Bitwise submitted paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an (XRP) ETF and a BTC-Treasury ETF. Canary Capital, a firm started by Valkyrie’s founder Steven McClurg, also filed for a spot Litecoin (LTC) fund.