BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has recently surpassed Grayscale in total assets under management (AUM) for digital asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Despite offering only two funds—IBIT, a spot Bitcoin ETF, and ETHA, a spot Ethereum ETF—BlackRock’s combined AUM has reached $21.6 billion. This figure slightly surpasses the $21.3 billion managed by Grayscale across its four funds: GBTC, BTC Mini, ETHE, and ETH Mini, according to data from blockchain intelligence firm Arkham.
This change shows the direction in which institutional investors are increasingly interested in BlackRock’s digital assets. For instance, Morgan Stanley last week confirmed that it reduced almost all its $269.9 million exposure to GBTC by Grayscale and owns 5.5 million shares in BlackRock’s IBIT with a market value of about $187.1 million. Goldman Sachs also claimed to have ownership of approximately 6.93 million IBIT shares valued at about $235 million and had $35 million in Grayscale’s converted fund, as well as around $150 million invested in other spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Rise of BlackRock’s ETFs Signals Shift in Digital Asset Industry
Nate Geraci, an investment advisory firm known as The ETF Store, noted on the social media platform X that BlackRock’s IBIT has demonstrated net outflow only one day since its inception. This is evident from SoSoValue data. The fund has also experienced 26 days without inflows and outflows, which suggests a relatively stable investment regime.
Although BlackRock launched its IBIT fund as a direct competitor to Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETFs, its Ethereum fund, ETHA, has only one-third of the total assets among spot Ethereum ETFs. According to SoSoValue, ETHA has not captured negative outflows but only has four net-zero trading days following the onset of July 22 trading.
The growth of BlackRock’s ETFs is a major turning point in the digital asset market as more and more investors opt for safety which is offered by BlackRock. This development might have significant consequences for the competitive nature of digital asset management as an industry.