BlackRock and Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETFs Make History with Record Streak of Inflows

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust (FBTC) have broken another record by becoming two of the top 20 exchange-traded funds with the longest streak of continuous inflows of all time.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas observed on April 8 that the two spot BitcoinETFs have seen continuous inflows since their launch 59 trading days ago.

IBIT and FBTC have outperformed 99.9% of all ETFs ever launched since the market began in the 1990s. There were roughly 9000 ETFs globally at the end of 2022.

IBIT and FBTC will enter the top 10 ranking if they continue to see inflows for another 11 days.

Record performance

Analysts believe the record-breaking performance of BlackRock and Fidelity‘s spot Bitcoin ETFs stems from several factors, including institutional investors’ growing interest in cryptocurrencies, inflationary pressures, and the pursuit of alternative investments amid global economic uncertainty.

These ETFs provide a regulated and safer way for investors to incorporate Bitcoin into their portfolios, bypassing the security and complexity issues of direct crypto ownership.

The dominance of IBIT and FBTC also extends to net inflow amounts in absolute terms. As of April 5, IBIT’s net assets totaled nearly $15 billion, while FBTC stood at $8 billion.

The debut of spot Bitcoin ETFs follows years of regulatory challenges and skepticism from financial authorities like the SEC, which had expressed concerns over market volatility and manipulation risks associated with cryptocurrencies.

The record-breaking performance of these ETFs has sparked hopes for introducing more digital asset-based financial products, potentially expanding to include ETFs for other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum.