- BlackRock’s total Digital assets Under Management (AUM), namely $BTC and $ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs), passed rival Grayscale for the first time.
- With $21.21B, BlackRock becomes industry leader in the fast-growing sector of crypto wealth management.
- The growth of crypto ETFs highlights the potential to spur broader crypto adoption among financial institutions.
In under a month, BlackRock and Grayscale have swapped positions as the fight between the two crypto ETF leaders heats up.
Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, has thrown his support behind $BTC ETFs, and BlackRock’s $BTC balance sheet and the popularity of its $IBIT ETF are bearing him out.
Time to find out what it all means for crypto’s future in the world of financial asset management.
Can BlackRock Build On Its Lead Over Grayscale?
BlackRock’s digital assets under management reached $21.2B, overtaking Grayscale’s $20.7B. BlackRock continues to purchase Bitcoin to support the steady growth of its flagship $IBIT fund.
BLACKROCK ETF HOLDINGS OVERTAKE GRAYSCALE FOR THE FIRST TIME
BlackRock’s ETFs IBIT and ETHA have just overtaken Grayscale’s ETFs GBTC, BTC Mini, ETHE and ETH Mini in on-chain holdings.
Blackrock ETFs now have the largest collective holdings of any provider.
BlackRock ETF… pic.twitter.com/PB41LEGc97
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) August 16, 2024
At the same time, BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF ($ETHA) pushes the integration of crypto with the wealth management fields. BlackRock filed for its $ETH spot ETF at the end of 2023, and finally launched in late July 2024.
BlackRock passing Grayscale is a big story. But the bigger story is how the global asset management industry increasingly adopts crypto.
With the wealth management sector fueled by nearly $120T, it could become the strongest backer of widespread crypto adoption.
It all comes as part of steady growth across the sector in newly-launched $BTC spot ETFs.
The Money Keeps Flowing In For BlackRock …
Despite $BTC’s price fluctuations following the recent CPI data, BlackRock saw$71.07M $IBIT and $76.35M $ETHA inflows in the past week.
While $IBIT now sits in the pole position among the 12 Bitcoin ETFs, $ETHA sees strong inflows despite market volatility.
In the meantime, Grayscale continues to experience outflows, chasing after BlackRock.
… And Flowing Out of Grayscale
BlackRock gained ground at the expense of Grayscale, whose converted $GBTC ETF saw an outflow of $19M. Grayscale also lost $118M from $ETHE, its $ETH ETF.
The competition between $BTC and $ETH ETFs continues to favor Bitcoin. $BTC ETFs saw a $32M weekly inflow thanks to renewed investor confidence.
On the other hand, $ETH ETFs experienced a $14M outflow, demonstrating a more mixed investor sentiment despite $ETH’s recent price recovery.
In our view, the continued growth of crypto ETFs outlines the path forward for institutional crypto adoption.
The current crypto ETF market is a drop in the bucket compared to the trillions of dollars in asset management globally, but BlackRock’s move highlights a promising future for crypto.
References
- iShare Ethereum Trust ETF (BlackRock)
- Global AUM Rises in 2023, Even As Profits Fall (Pensions & Investments Online)
- Cumulative Spot Bitcoin ETF Volumes, Spot ETF Volume (TheBlock)
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