• BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF has become the world’s largest Bitcoin ETF with $20 billion AUM after surpassing Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
• The newly launched Bitcoin ETF has gained prominence for offering an easily accessible, simple, and cheap investment vehicle into the digital asset.

Barely six months after the approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs, BlackRock has taken the lead as the world’s largest Bitcoin ETF fund after amassing over $20 billion in total assets under management. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) dethroned Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) with $19.65 billion after reaching $19.68 billion worth of Bitcoin on Tuesday.

ETF experts have been forecasting this outcome noting the recent outflows from GBTC and inflows into BlackRock. These experts attribute this trend to the relatively low fees offered by BlackRock compared to Grayscale. Additionally, BlackRock is the largest asset manager in the world, enjoying a great reputation and high-profile clientele.

Combined, the two ETFs constitute one of the most successful ETF categories. Reluctantly launched by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January, the new ETF category has amassed over $58.5 billion in assets. This has by far outperformed other asset classes including precious metals which took years to reach these levels. In fact, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF surpassed silver trusts in total AUM a couple of weeks ago.

The launch of the Bitcoin ETF introduced a new investment vehicle that does not require investors to understand the complexities of the world’s largest cryptocurrency. Its rising popularity is owed to the growing interest of institutions, companies, wealth funds, and family offices. ETF experts speculate that inflows will continue to rise as adoption accelerates and regulation eases.

Since the launch of the ETFs, BTC’s price has quadrupled reaching a new all-time high of $74,400 in March. The digital asset has retracted to trade at $$67,943 at the time of writing.  This translates to a 3% drop in the last 7 days.

Investors remain confident that the asset will retest its ATH and to go on and reach over $100,000 by the end of the year.

Though Bitcoin ETFs will likely continue to lead the market, launching other crypto ETFs like Ethereum could take market share away from Bitcoin and affect its growth. As CNF noted, Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas predicts a potential approval timeline for spot Ethereum ETF around July 4, 2024.

Leading this initiative is BlackRock which has recently revised its S-1 registration statement for a spot Ethereum ETF, marking significant progress towards its launch. This amendment, filed on May 29, supplements the initial registration from November 2023 and indicates a move closer to approval. Analysts expect Ethereum’s ETH to mirror BTC, and see the world’s largest altcoin mark a new all-time high.

The approval of the Ethereum ETF is expected to open the floodgates for other crypto ETFs such as Solana, XRP, Shiba Inu, and Cardano.