BlackRock is fast becoming a force to reckon with within the exchange-traded fund (ETF) space after recently achieving a new feat. The ETF issuer, which already holds the title for being the world’s largest asset manager, has just made new headlines after its digital asset ETFs surged past those offered by longtime industry leader Grayscale. That is, in terms of total assets under management (AUM).
Notably, BlackRock has only two funds to its name; its spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), and ETHA, the spot Ethereum fund. However, these two funds, as of publication, command a combined AUM of $21.6 billion, slightly getting ahead of Grayscale.
At this time, Grayscale holds four funds, namely GBTC, BTC Mini, ETHE, and ETH. However, all four funds hold $21.3 billion, according to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham.
Growing Interest in BlackRock ETF
Without a doubt, there is a growing appeal for BlackRock’s ETFs. This is reflected in a recent decision by Morgan to sell nearly its complete $269.9 million position in GBTC. Now, the firm holds 5.5 million shares of IBIT, worth about $187.1 million at current prices.
Just last week, Goldman Sachs also confirmed holding nearly 7 million IBIT shares worth about $235 million at current prices. However, it might be worth noting that the investment banking firm still holds about $35 million worth of Grayscale’s converted fund and about $150 million in shares of other spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Meanwhile, the reason for the growing interest in BlackRock’s ETFs might not exactly be far-fetched, as Nate Geraci recently pointed out. The president of investment advisor The ETF Store, for instance, noted an incredible feat achieved by BlackRock’s IBIT spot Bitcoin ETF. In the X post, Geraci claimed that the IBIT fund has only recorded one day of net outflows since launch.
This claim has so far been verified by data from SoSoValue. However, the data also showed the fund having zero activity for at least 26 days. That is, days of zero net inflows or outflows.
Interestingly, while IBIT holds a tangible lead over Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETFs, it still has a lot of ground to cover with its Ethereum offering. Presently, BlackRock’s spot Ethereum fund, ETHA, is only the third largest such fund in terms of AUM, per SoSoValue data.
The signs are good, though. That is because, just like its Bitcoin counterpart, ETHA has yet to log any days of negative outflows. However, it has registered about four days of zero flows since its launch almost four weeks ago.
