BlackRock IBIT ETF logs first zero-inflow day since US Bitcoin ETF launch

BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has seen its first day of $0 inflows since Bitcoin ETFs were launched in the United States in January.

Since its start on Jan 11, IBIT has continuously drawn millions of dollars in daily investments, totaling approximately $15.5 billion in just 71 days. However, BlackRock’s inflow run ended on April 24, when it recorded $0 inflows.

Most other Bitcoin ETF participants experienced a dry spell as well. Out of the 11 Bitcoin ETFs registered in the U.S., only Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) saw inflows of $5.6 million and $4.2 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) continued to suffer losses. On April 24, GBTC reported $130.4 million in outflows, bringing the net outflows for spot Bitcoin ETFs to $120.6 million for the day.

Although IBIT has never experienced a dearth of inflows previously, something similar has transpired frequently among ETF participants. Fidelity’s FBTC, for example, has seen three days of $0 inflows in the last two weeks.

To date, the Bitcoin ETF market in the U.S. has collected a net of $12.3 billion in Bitcoin. However, GBTC outflows have countered some of the inflows recorded by the remaining ten Bitcoin ETFs. As of Jan. 11, outflows from GBTC have surpassed $17 billion.

Earlier, on April 24, Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst, took to X to commend the 71-day streak of continuous inflows to the IBIT ETF.

The fund has surpassed the Global Jets ETF, as well as Vanguard’s bond market ETF and developed-markets ETF, which Balchunas referred to as “one-hit wonders” and “cash vacuum cleaners.”

The streak places BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF among the top ten funds of all time by yet another metric. However, Balchunas stated that there is “a lot of mountain still left to climb” to reach the top rank.

JPMorgan’s Equity Premium Income ETF had the longest inflow streak of any ETF, lasting 160 days. With $18.27 billion in assets, BlackRock’s Bitcoin fund ranks in the top 3% of all ETFs ever created.

The success of the ETF can be ascribed to institutions gradually increasing their exposure to Bitcoin. Bitcoin is not a significant part of these companies’ strategies. Instead, Balchunas described it as “hot sauce” on top of larger portfolios.

“Shows that most of the bites are nibbles but there are a lot of fish,” he said.

However, not all of BlackRock’s cryptocurrency efforts have met with immediate success. BlackRock’s tokenized fund, BUIDL, which debuted on the Ethereum blockchain on March 20, has attracted only a few investors thus far.

Despite the fact that BUIDL increased by 200% in just a few weeks, on-chain data shows that the majority of the fund’s assets are spread over 11 wallets.