BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw $1.1 billion in net inflows last week, pushing its assets under management past $70 billion in just 341 days. This rapid growth marks IBIT as one of the fastest-growing funds in the ETF industry’s history.
According to Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas, the swift adoption of crypto ETFs by financial advisors and institutions signals growing confidence in the asset class. “These are bigger fish that don’t bite quickly,” Balchunas said, noting that such investors typically take years to engage with new ETFs due to liquidity concerns.
A Bloomberg Intelligence report highlighted that investment advisors filers of 13-F reports to the SEC hold about 20% of all spot Bitcoin ETF shares, roughly $21 billion. Balchunas predicts this percentage could double within a year, with around 1,200 13-F filers currently holding IBIT shares.
The increased interest coincides with a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment under the Trump administration, which has contributed to significant price gains for Bitcoin, recently trading near $105,000—up 12% year-to-date, outperforming many traditional assets.
Financial advisors have shown greater interest in crypto ETFs. A January study by Bitwise and VettaFi found that nearly 20% of advisors plan to include crypto in client portfolios by 2025, double the prior year’s figure. Almost all surveyed advisors reported receiving client inquiries about cryptocurrency.
Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, attributes this trend to advisors’ efforts to educate themselves amid a friendlier political climate. He encourages advisors to allocate 10% of cautious portfolios and up to 40% of more aggressive accounts to digital assets, shifting from the traditional 60-40 stock and bond split.
Edelman also cites BlackRock’s strong brand as a key factor driving IBIT’s dominance in assets under management. Institutional investors favor familiar brands when entering new asset classes to ease board and executive concerns.
ETF.com Senior Analyst Sumit Roy expects institutional interest in regulated crypto ETFs to grow as they offer exposure to digital assets without the risks associated with direct ownership. Roy noted that while retail and adventurous investors have accessed crypto via trading platforms and OTC products, advisors and institutions have only recently begun adopting these funds due to enhanced regulatory protections.