Official data confirms that the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) currently holds in excess of 203,000 Bitcoins as collateral, supporting its issuance of over 357 million shares on the market.
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BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has made significant strides since its launch on January 11th, rapidly accumulating over $14.5 billion in assets under management (AUM) within just two months. As a passive ETF focused on Bitcoin, IBIT's AUM solely consists of Bitcoin collateral, making it the second-largest Bitcoin ETF globally in terms of AUM, following Grayscale's Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), yet surpassing it in daily trading volumes.
IBIT's trading volumes have been remarkable since its debut, with its daily trading volumes exceeding $1 billion on its first day and reaching as high as nearly $4 billion on certain days. In comparison, even BlackRock's established gold ETF, the iShares Gold Trust (IAU), with an AUM of nearly $27 billion, experiences significantly lower daily trading volumes, typically below $300 million.
Despite its brief presence in the market, IBIT has already broken records previously held by BlackRock's gold ETF, surpassing its highest daily trading volume multiple times. This momentum is partly fueled by the shift of capital from GBTC to newer Bitcoin ETFs like IBIT, which offer greater investor convenience.
GBTC, which has been in existence for over a decade and held almost 620,000 BTC prior to the launch of new Bitcoin ETFs, now trails behind IBIT in terms of BTC holdings. Meanwhile, Fidelity's ETF (FBTC) holds approximately 127,000 BTC, collectively approaching the holdings of GBTC. Together, GBTC, IBIT, and FBTC account for a significant portion of the total Bitcoin holdings within ETFs and similar funds worldwide, representing almost three-quarters of the total.
With the increasing adoption and popularity of Bitcoin ETFs like IBIT, it is foreseeable that they may soon surpass both GBTC and traditional assets like gold ETFs in terms of AUM and trading volumes, marking a significant shift in investment trends within the financial markets.
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