As of October 13, bitcoin ETF IBIT from BlackRock showed a net inflow of $60.4 million in one day — while other funds recorded capital outflows. Fidelity (FBTC) had an outflow of $93.3 million, Bitwise (NITB) — $115.6 million, and Ark (ARKB) — another $21.1 million.
Overall, on Monday, spot bitcoin ETFs saw outflows of $327 million. IBIT remained the only fund with a positive balance — for the 10th day in a row. Ether ETFs are also in the red: for the third day in a row, outflows have been recorded, totaling $429 million in the last 24 hours.
IBIT from BlackRock surpasses Strategy in bitcoin holdings
Institutional investors continue to flock to IBIT — the bitcoin ETF from BlackRock, which is rapidly strengthening its position amid waning interest in other crypto funds. Its high liquidity and strong backing from major players make it a favorite during market turbulence.
According to the latest data, as of October 14, IBIT assets exceeded $65.6 billion. On-chain data shows the fund now holds more than 804,900 BTC — that’s over $91.8 billion at the current rate. Thus, IBIT already surpasses Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy, whose treasury reserve is about 640,000 BTC ($73 billion).
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IBIT now accounts for about 4.2% of all bitcoin issuance, while Strategy — 3.1%.
At the same time, there is a cooling of interest in other bitcoin and ether ETFs: since the end of September, outflows have exceeded inflows, and large investors are showing caution.
IBIT breaks growth records, but the market pressures BTC and ETH prices
Back in December last year, IBIT crossed the 500,000 BTC mark and became the third largest ETF in the US in just its first year. And when the fund reached 250,000 BTC in March 2024, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink stated that IBIT is the fastest-growing ETF in history. He also admitted he was surprised by the pace of bitcoin’s growth.
At the time of publication, BTC is trading around $111,832, down 2.8% in 24 hours and nearly 10% over the past seven days — amid a general market crash over the weekend.
Last week, the BlackRock ETF attracted $2.63 billion — the largest weekly inflow among all spot bitcoin funds. From October 6 to 10, IBIT accounted for almost all net inflows in the sector, totaling $2.71 billion.
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But in the Ethereum segment, the situation is different. Just on Monday, the BlackRock ETHA fund recorded an outflow of $310.1 million. Fidelity (FETH) and Bitwise (ETHW) had outflows of $19.1 million and $12.8 million respectively. Total outflows from spot ETH-ETF on October 13 reached $428.5 million, and cumulative losses since launch exceeded $14.5 billion.
The total trading volume of ether funds amounted to $2.82 billion with total net assets of $28.75 billion — about 5.56% of ETH’s current market capitalization. At the time of writing, ether is trading at $4,006, down almost 3.5% in 24 hours and 14.27% in a week after a record crypto market drop.
The crypto market slumped over the weekend
From Friday to Sunday, digital assets fell sharply — largely due to the escalation of the trade war between the US and China. Donald Trump’s tough statements about 100% tariffs on Chinese exports triggered a chain reaction on exchanges and a wave of forced liquidations. Bitcoin crashed from $116,000 to below $110,000 in just a few minutes.
“Such volatility highlights why institutions increasingly see 24/7 liquidity as an essential part of risk management,” — Tommy Doyle, Head of Client Relations at Xapo Bank.
The crash was one of the largest in the history of the crypto market — in just a few hours, positions worth $19 billion were liquidated. This sparked a new wave of discussion about the limitations of trading bitcoin ETFs and the risks associated with their inability to react 24/7.
