BlackRock has yet again proved why it’s the leading asset management firm and a global authority in the crypto space. Its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), is the first among the 11 issuers approved by the SEC to reach $1 billion in assets under management.
Steven Lubka, managing director at Swan Bitcoin, a Bitcoin-focused financial service company, noted that achieving this feat in such a short time is no walk in the park, especially after struggling with the SEC’s approval.
On the other hand, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, Robert Mitchnick, noted that the huge inflows to IBIT in only one week signifies a high demand for the new product.
According to Lubka, the success of BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF indicates that Bitcoin will benefit as a whole as trustworthy Traditional Finance (TradFi) firms take over from failures like FTX and Celsius as the gateway to the crypto market for investors. He further stated that the recent spot Bitcoin ETF approval after numerous rejections for more than 10 years played a big role in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF success.
Following the recent regulatory approval, Bitcoin experienced a notable surge in value; however, it subsequently underwent a decrease from $46,700 to its current trading position of approximately $41,400. Lubka posited that the downturn in Bitcoin’s price could be correlated with challenges faced by Grayscale, leading to a mass exodus of investors from the fund.
He further proposed that these investors might be adopting a cautious stance, opting to observe how the market responds to the entry of new TradFi participants. Lubka believes that traders will get convinced within the next one or two weeks, which will likely impact Bitcoin’s price positively.
