BlackRock Inc. is known the world over for its ETF suite, with funds spanning all manner of industries and themes going back nearly two decades. But one of its newest offerings is its most profitable.
The issuer’s Bitcoin ETF, which is nearing the $100 billion asset mark thanks to massive inflows and a new run-up in the token itself, generates more revenue than any other in the firm’s lineup of 1,000-plus globally, according to data from Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart at Bloomberg Intelligence.
Their calculations suggest that the fund, which charges a modest 0.25% fee, brings in an annual revenue haul that tops $240 million, a remarkable feat for an ETF that’s less than two years old, the pair wrote in a note.
IBIT, as the fund is known, has become shorthand in the ETF industry for the crypto category given its size—and the pace at which it attained it. Its assets are on track to hit the $100 billion milestone about five times faster than any other ETF in history, with money pouring in from both retail and institutional investors. Moreover, it’s “by far the youngest” of the 20 largest ETFs, with the rest having taken years to achieve their super-large loads, the BI analysts wrote.
The race to $100 billion has been aided by Bitcoin’s surge to an all-time high — over the weekend, the digital coin crossed above $125,000 for the first time. The cryptocurrency has soared more than 70% in the wake of Donald Trump’s November electoral win after the president campaigned on greater crypto acceptance. The administration has pushed forward initiatives to help bring digital assets further into the mainstream while feeding investors’ appetite for the class.
