BlackRock CEO, Larry Fink, ‘Very Bullish’ on Bitcoin as ETF Surpasses $17 Billion
Mitchell Nixon
Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, expressed his delight with the impressive performance of the firm’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) and reaffirmed his optimistic stance on Bitcoin’s long-term potential.
In an interview with Fox Business on March 27, Fink stated, “IBIT is the fastest growing ETF in the history of ETFs. Nothing has gained assets as fast as IBIT in the history of ETFs.” He noted that the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) had exceeded his expectations, particularly during the initial 11 weeks of trading.
According to data from Farside Investors, IBIT witnessed a remarkable start, accruing $13.5 billion in flows within its first 11 weeks, reaching a daily high of $849 million on March 12. On average, IBIT experiences inflows of slightly over $260 million per trading day.
“We’re creating now a market that has more liquidity, more transparency and I’m pleasantly surprised. I would never have predicted it before we filed it that we were going to see this type of retail demand,” remarked Fink.
When questioned if IBIT’s performance exceeded expectations, Fink replied affirmatively, stating, “Yes, definitely.”
Fink concluded by reaffirming his strong confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term sustainability, stating, “I’m very bullish on the long-term viability of Bitcoin.”
According to BitMEX Research, IBIT presently possesses $17.1 billion worth of Bitcoin and achieved the $10 billion milestone in just two months, a feat that took the first gold ETF two years to accomplish.
Among the currently authorised ETFs, IBIT is second only to the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust in Bitcoin holdings, with $23.6 billion in BTC. However, Grayscale’s Bitcoin holdings have decreased, falling from the 620,000 BTC it held prior to its transition to a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Excluding Grayscale, the nine spot Bitcoin ETF issuers now collectively possess over $34.1 billion in Bitcoin. IBIT, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) are leading the way in terms of inflows.
Meanwhile, certain experts in the industry foresee the possibility of some spot Bitcoin ETF providers ultimately ceasing operations due to a lack of profitability.
“Most of the current ETFs launched will never even break even as costs will only work if they get to billions of assets under management, which they won’t,” remarked Hector McNeil, co-CEO and founder of white-label ETF provider HANetf, in a recent interview.
In an effort to compete with larger entities, several ETF providers have reduced their fees.
However, these smaller providers “face an uphill battle in entering this turf war of giants,” according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Henry Jim.
Jim added, “If they match fees, they won’t have enough revenue to survive, and if they don’t lower fees, they won’t be able to gather enough critical mass assets to survive.”
On March 27, asset management firm Hashdex received approval for its spot Bitcoin ETF, becoming the 11th and most recent participant in the fiercely competitive spot Bitcoin ETF market in the United States.