BlackRock: The scale of IBIT will continue to grow, currently holding over 765,000 bitcoins

According to Forbes, Bitcoin rose about 20% in the past week, breaking the $80,000 mark for the first time since May. Robbie Mitchnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock, stated that the scale of its Bitcoin spot ETF IBIT will continue to grow as BlackRock is still expanding channels for investors to access and allocate Bitcoin. BlackRock has lowered the minimum size for investors to directly exchange Bitcoin for IBIT shares from $25 million to $1 million. This mechanism allows eligible investors to convert their held Bitcoin directly into ETF shares without having to sell Bitcoin on the market first, potentially avoiding capital gains tax from asset sales.

Since its launch, IBIT has become the fastest-growing ETF at multiple scale nodes, currently representing investors holding over 765,000 Bitcoins, valued at approximately $6 billion. Mitchnick noted that real-world risks such as kidnapping, extortion, and custody failures are driving some Bitcoin holders to shift all or part of their self-custodied assets to ETFs. Recently, attacks on some Coldcard hardware wallets have further intensified market concerns about the security of self-custody.

Data shows that the 13 Bitcoin spot ETFs in the U.S., led by IBIT, recorded the strongest single-week inflow in nearly 10 months. Talos researchers indicated that this week, Bitcoin's approximately 23% increase and rise in volatility are among the highest in history, with similar trends typically corresponding to above-average returns in the medium to short term. Unlike the breakthrough in May, which lacked ETF funding support and subsequently fell back, this round of increase has structural buying support that was not present before.