On the anniversary of Bitcoin’s white paper, the combined holdings of U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have reached over 1 million BTC, signaling a new era of institutional Bitcoin investment. According to data from Farside Investors, spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in nearly $893 million in a single day on Wednesday, with the majority of allocations going to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT).
These recent inflows mark a pivotal shift in the market. Since the SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year, the funds have accumulated a staggering $24.2 billion worth of Bitcoin. At the current growth rate, Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas estimates that these ETFs could soon match or exceed the holdings of Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, who reportedly holds around 1.1 million BTC.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, led the charge with $872 million worth of inflows, establishing a new daily record for its iShares Bitcoin Trust. With holdings now totaling approximately 429,000 BTC, BlackRock’s ETF surpasses the Bitcoin holdings of MicroStrategy, which has led corporate BTC investments with 252,000 BTC.
While early ETF investments were largely driven by retail interest, experts, including Bitwise’s Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen, note that a “second wave” of institutional investors has joined. Wealth managers from large institutions like Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo are now allocating more Bitcoin in client portfolios after navigating due diligence and compliance hurdles.
“They trust BlackRock,” Rasmussen said, describing the asset manager’s appeal among traditional financial advisors. “This isn’t a contrarian view anymore; it’s backed by the largest institution in the world.”