The BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) experienced remarkable inflows totaling $642.9 million on October 29, as reported by Farside data.
This marks the largest inflow since March 12, contributing to a total net inflow across all funds of $870.1 million—the highest since June 4.
According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the fund also witnessed its highest trading volume in six months, with $3.3 billion traded on that day.
Balchunas noted that spikes in ETF volume usually occur during downturns but mentioned the recent surge in spot BTC prices. He speculated, “My guess is this is latter, which means look for (more) big inflows this week.”
$IBIT traded $3.3b today, biggest number in 6mo, which is a bit odd bc btc was up 4% (typically ETF volume spikes in a downturn/crisis). Occasionally tho volume can spike if there a FOMO-ing frenzy (a la $ARKK in 2020). Given the surge in price past few days, my guess is this is… pic.twitter.com/z44ZfggHVm
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) October 29, 2024
Total BlackRock Flows Reach $25 Billion
Since its inception in January, BlackRock’s total net inflow has approached $25 billion.
ETF Store President and fellow analyst Nate Geraci noted that in the last five years, nearly 2,100 ETFs have launched. “With almost $25 billion in inflows, IBIT now ranks fourth in lifetime inflows within this group,” he remarked, highlighting that it achieved this milestone in under 10 months.
Balchunas further indicated that the BlackRock fund was not isolated in this success, as all major BTC ETFs experienced heightened trading volume over the last two days.
“If this is a FOMO frenzy, we’ll see it show up in the flows over the next few nights,” he elaborated, adding that if that is not the case, it could be linked to arbitrage trading.
All of the suits who aped the ETF are now in profit and can start shilling IBIT to their other suit friends who just watched gold go on an insane move into price discovery pic.twitter.com/4Du39UM6Sp
— Will (@WClementeIII) October 30, 2024
The Fidelity Bitcoin ETF (FBTC) saw substantial inflows as well, racking up $133.9 million on October 29, while the Bitwise BITB fund experienced $52.5 million in inflows.
Ark 21Shares and VanEck also had smaller inflows, with others registering net zero. Grayscale’s GBTC fund saw an outflow of $17.3 million but gained $29.2 million in its lower-fee mini Bitcoin Trust (BTC).
Bitcoin Approaches $73K
This significant institutional inflow coincided with Bitcoin prices nearing their previous all-time high. On October 29, Bitcoin touched $73,562 during late trading, according to CoinGecko.
As of the time of writing, the price has dipped slightly to $72,500 but remains up 3.5% for the day, being just 1.7% short of its March peak. The likelihood of entering new price discovery now appears to be on the horizon.
That’s a phenomenal Bull Flag breakout$BTC #Crypto #Bitcoin https://t.co/alT0ni11df pic.twitter.com/XQZnrhDiZT
— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) October 29, 2024
In contrast, many leading altcoins such as Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and XRP (XRP) have seen minimal movement in the past 24 hours.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock/K.unshu
