BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Surpasses Gold Funds in Inflows Despite Negative Annual Performance

Bitcoin ETF as Top Investment Despite Price Weakness

BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), has become one of the highest-volume funds of the year despite the cryptocurrency's price weakness. Over the course of the year, approximately $25.4 billion net flowed into IBIT ^[1]. This means the Bitcoin fund significantly outperformed the two largest gold ETFs: State Street's SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) recorded approximately $20.8 billion and BlackRock's iShares Gold Trust (IAU) around $10.8 billion ^[1].

This development is particularly remarkable given Bitcoin's negative annual performance. The price recently traded at approximately $89,000 – roughly 30 percent below its October record high ^[1]. In contrast, gold performed strongly this year, gaining over 60 percent ^[1].

BlackRock Positions Bitcoin ETF as Major 2025 Theme

BlackRock has named its Bitcoin ETF as one of the three biggest investment themes for 2025, placing it on par with Treasury Bills and the largest U.S. technology stocks ^[2]. The asset manager listed IBIT alongside its Treasury Bill ETF and another fund that tracks the "Magnificent 7" tech stocks of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla ^[2].

IBIT has attracted over $25 billion in net inflows this year, placing it sixth among all ETFs – and that despite negative returns in 2025 ^[2]. The $25 billion in inflows come in addition to the approximately $37 billion that IBIT brought in during 2024, bringing total inflows since launch to $62.5 billion ^[2].

Changed Investor Logic

Analysts interpret the high inflows despite negative performance as a signal of changed investor logic. Rather than treating Bitcoin as a short-term speculative trade, more and more institutional buyers apparently view the asset as a long-term macro position that resembles the role of gold ^[1]. In this interpretation, volatility does not automatically become a reason to exit, but rather a rebalancing or entry window ^[1].

ETF expert Eric Balchunas explained: "IBIT is the only ETF in the 2025 flow leaderboard with a negative return for the year. The knee-jerk reaction from CT (Crypto Twitter) is to whine about the return, but the real takeaway is that it ranked 6th DESPITE the negative return." ^[1] He continued: "If you can do $25 billion in a bad year, imagine the flow potential in a good year." ^[1]

Nate Geraci, President of NovaDius Wealth Management, said that BlackRock's naming of IBIT signals that the company is unfazed by Bitcoin's 30 percent decline from its October high ^[2].

Ethereum ETF Also Exceeds Expectations

BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) has also exceeded expectations and attracted over $9.1 billion in inflows this year, bringing the total to nearly $12.7 billion ^[2]. The company also filed an application in November for an iShares Staked Ethereum ETF to complement ETHA ^[2].