Key Takeaways
- BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF has generated over $244 million in annual revenue, making it the firm’s most profitable ETF.
- The fund is less than $2 billion away from reaching $100 billion in AUM, just 435 days after launch.
- Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas called IBIT’s rapid growth “absurd” as he noted it outpaced long-standing ETFs like IVV and IWF in under two years.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by BlackRock stands to become the first fund ever to hit the asset under management (AUM) of over $100 billion, an achievement barely less than two years after its inception. The fund has also surpassed all other BlackRock ETFs in terms of profitability with an annual revenue of more than $244 million.
BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF Nears $100 Billion in AUM
The data from Bloomberg Intelligence indicates that IBIT is now performing better than old ETFs like iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) which are already more than 20 years old. The sudden rise of the fund indicates an unprecedented institutional and retail demand for Bitcoin exposure via more conventional market products.
According to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the growth of IBIT has been extraordinary. “IBIT a hair away from $100 billion, is now the most profitable ETF for BlackRock by a good amount now based on current AUM. Check out the ages of the rest of the Top 10. Absurd,” Balchunas wrote on X. He highlighted that whilst other flagship ETFs of BlackRock had taken over 20 years to reach similar profitability, IBIT had done it within 435 days.
At the current rate, IBIT will become the fastest ETF in history to surpass the $100 billion AUM milestone. It is close to surpassing the previous record of the S&P 500 ETF of Vanguard (VOO), which took 2,011 days to reach that point.
According to Bloomberg data, IBIT’s $244.5 million annual revenue surpasses the $219 million earned by both IWF and the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA). The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has approximately $210 million of annual revenue under it, with the iShares Gold Trust (IAU) having $151 million.
Market observers noted that the need to buy Bitcoin ETFs keeps growing, with institutional involvement rising as well as the adoption of cryptocurrency in the mainstream financial sector. Standard Chartered analysts have estimated that the value of Bitcoin might hit $200,000 by the end of 2025, which is in tandem with the surging inflow of capital into spot Bitcoin ETFs.
IBIT is now the fastest-growing and most revenue-generating ETF in BlackRock history, with only a little less than $2 billion to reach the target of over $100 billion in AUM, which highlights the growing speed at which Bitcoin is being incorporated into investment portfolios by mainstream investors.
Read More: Why is Crypto Market Up Today? Bitcoin, Ether, XRP See Strong Rally
