Less than a year since debuting, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has made history by surpassing its well-established gold counterpart, the iShares Gold ETF (IAU), in net assets. As of November 7, IBIT holds net assets of approximately $33.17 billion, overtaking IAU’s $32.9 billion in assets—a notable achievement, considering IAU launched in January 2005 while IBIT began trading in January 2024.
Nate Geraci, President of the ETF Store, called this milestone “absolutely wild” in a post on X. On the same day, IBIT saw record-breaking inflows of $1.1 billion, fueled in part by Trump’s election win and the Fed’s recent rate cut, according to Jeff Mei, COO of BTSE. “Institutions are flocking to BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF with the prospect of further rate cuts, pro-crypto regulatory developments, and continued economic stimulus in China,” Mei explained, predicting even higher levels of institutional interest in the coming months.
Since January, the 12 available spot Bitcoin ETFs have collectively attracted $25.5 billion in net inflows, rewriting the ETF launch record books. Despite this, major platforms like Vanguard have yet to fully offer these funds, potentially signaling even greater future inflows as availability expands. BlackRock’s IBIT stands out as the leader among recent entrants, although SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), State Street’s longstanding gold ETF, remains the largest with $75.5 billion in net assets.
