- BlackRock’s IBIT was the top traded exchange-traded fund on Thursday.
- The firm has taken in $45 billion over its lifetime.
- It came off the back of a fresh all-time high for Bitcoin.
Bitcoin’s price is back at all-time highs — and Wall Street can’t get enough.
On Thursday, just as Bitcoin soared to $111,807, BlackRock’s IBIT exchange-traded fund made it to the top of the ETF list.
The fund raked in $877 million.
That’s more than any other ETF in the market, said Bloomberg ETF expert, Eric Balchunas. It’s also the first time BlackRock’s Bitcoin fund has taken the number one spot for flows in a single day.
Trading volume on Thursday toppled $5.2 billion, the second most in its history.
“Classic feeding frenzy,” Balchunas said on X on Wednesday. “IBIT’s Pac-Man spree is now up to about $8 billion in five weeks,” while over its lifetime the fund has hoovered up $45 billion.
On Friday, Bitcoin slumped to $109,300 amid a new tariff threat from US President Donald Trump, this time against the European Union.
Despite the drop, Bitcoin’s new record is a magnet for investors.
The frenzy comes off the back of a fundamental shift in how Bitcoin is being perceived by institutions. The top crypto is now being embraced as both a high-growth bet and a safe-haven hedge, a dual narrative that has helped it “decouple” from tech stocks.
What’s more, euphoria is feeding euphoria, and with Donald Trump plugging crypto allies into key regulatory slots, investors are hopeful that the sky is clear for even higher prices.
‘Dual narrative’
There’s two stories working in Bitcoin’s favour right now.
Investors are accumulating Bitcoin as if it were a tech stock, wagering that the government will loosen monetary conditions if the economy continues to tremble. Meanwhile, rising prices and global uncertainty are pushing traders to treat it like digital gold.
“It’s this dual narrative nature that gives Bitcoin a higher floor,” wrote Noelle Acheson in her newsletter “Crypto is Macro Now.”
“It diversifies the investor base and enhances the asset’s appeal when compared to either ‘just’ risk assets or ‘just’ gold.”
How high
When Bitcoin goes into price discovery mode, it’s tough to time the top.
Some have made predictions, nevertheless.
Bernstein analysts upped their prediction $200,000 from $150,000 by the end of 2025, while Utkarsh Ahuja, managing partner at Moon Pursuit Capital previously told DL News that it could hit $120,000 by the first week of June.
Maelstrom founder Arthur Hayes is convinced that Bitcoin will overtake $1 million by the end of Trump’s second administration in 2028.
Pedro Solimano is a markets correspondent based in Buenos Aires. Got a tip? Email him at psolimano@dlnews.com.