BlackRock's IBIT Flexes $269M Muscle, Bitcoin ETFs Now Just $80M Shy of Yearly Glory

BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust raked in $269.3 million on Thursday — its best day since early March, around the time the US-Iran situation started heating up. That's a five-week high, folks. Somewhere, a degen is printing this chart out and putting it on their wall next to their pizza order confirmation.

The massive inflow helped turn the tide for US spot Bitcoin ETFs, which had been bleeding for two straight days. The 12 funds finished Thursday with a net inflow of $358.1 million overall. Nothing cures a two-day hangover like BlackRock showing up with a briefcase full of institutional cash. That's the vibe.

Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund came in second with $53.3 million, while Morgan Stanley's shiny new Bitcoin Trust — just two days old — contributed $14.9 million. Not bad for a rookie. Imagine being two days old and already getting invited to the grown-ups' table. Meanwhile, your average crypto project is still figuring out how to not get rugged at three years old.

Bitwise and ARK 21Shares brought in $11.7 million and $4.8 million respectively, while Franklin Templeton and VanEck rounded things out with roughly $2 million combined. Hey, $2 million is $2 million. Nobody's turning down lunch money when you're playing in a $56 billion sandpit.

BlackRock's IBIT has now pulled in $1.5 billion this year, even as Bitcoin has cooled off from its $97,000 high to around $72,100. Digital assets head Robert Mitchnick noted back in March that IBIT holders have been disproportionately diamond-handed — holding tight while the rest of the market fomos and panics. Classic "we're not like other girls" energy from IBIT holders. They saw red and said "nah, I think I'll stay."

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley is apparently feeling confident. Digital asset head Amy Oldenburg called MSBT the bank's best-performing ETF launch ever, and they've already filed for staked Ether and Solana ETFs. Looks like this is just the warmup. Someone at Morgan Stanley just discovered the multichain portfolio and said "yes, I too would like to be perceived as forward-thinking."

With Thursday's numbers, US spot Bitcoin ETFs are hovering at $56.51 billion in net inflows for the year — just $80 million shy of the $56.59 billion they closed 2025 with. They're so close they can taste it. Actually, they can probably literally taste it. These are ETFs. They have expensive lawyers. They definitely have taste.