BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) witnessed its highest single-day outflow on January 2, with data from SoSoValue pinpointing a hefty $332.62 million outflow. This record-breaking event also marked the third day of consecutive outflows from the fund, which totalled $392.6 million. While this could be seen as a cause for concern, it’s worth noting that BlackRock’s IBIT boasted the third largest inflows among all U.S. ETFs in 2024, amassing a staggering $37.2 billion.
Despite this recent downturn, the fund continues to hold its own against competitors such as the Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VOO) and the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), which recorded inflows of $116 billion and $89 billion respectively in 2024, according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas.
Interestingly, while BlackRock’s IBIT witnessed significant outflows, Bitwise’s BITB, Fidelity’s FBTC, and Ark 21Shares’s ARKB all recorded inflows on January 2, raking in $48.31 million, $36.2 million, and $16.54 million respectively. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust and VanEck’s HODL also experienced modest inflows of $6.89 million and $5.51 million, despite Grayscale’s larger GBTC fund suffering an outflow of $23.13 million.
The total daily trading volume for these investment products reached $3.24 billion on January 2, a notable increase from the $2.25 billion recorded the previous trading day. At the time of this report, Bitcoin (BTC) had appreciated by 2% in the last 24 hours, trading at $96,893.
Ether ETFs also witnessed a day of outflows on December 2, with $77.51 million exiting the funds. The majority of these outflows came from Bitwise’s ETHW and Grayscale’s ETHE fund, which saw $56.11 million and $21.4 million exit respectively. The remaining seven ETH ETFs remained relatively stable on the day. Ethereum (ETH) also rose by 1.7% over the past day, trading at $3,458 per coin.
Looking forward to 2025, Nate Geraci, president of ETF Store, predicts a future of combined spot BTC and ETH ETFs, the launch of options trading for spot ETH ETFs, and the implementation of in-kind creation and redemption mechanisms for both BTC and ETH spot ETFs. He also anticipates the inclusion of staking features for spot Ether funds and the approval of a spot Solana (SOL) ETF, confidently stating, “Actually, these will all happen.”
While the recent outflows from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and other BTC ETFs may initially raise eyebrows, the long-term view and prevailing market trends suggest that these funds continue to play a pivotal role in the wider financial landscape.
