Institutional hunger for Bitcoin is accelerating — and BlackRock is leading the charge.
On April 28, the world’s largest asset manager made a decisive move, scooping up nearly $1 billion worth of Bitcoin through its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
This huge influx, totaling $970 million, marked IBIT’s second-biggest buying day since the fund launched, according to data compiled by Sosovalue. Only its $1.12 billion haul from November 2024 surpasses it.
The effect was immediate across the ETF landscape. While many other Bitcoin ETFs stayed flat or bled assets — with ARK Invest’s ARKB seeing $226 million in outflows — IBIT’s aggressive move pushed total net inflows across spot Bitcoin ETFs to $590 million for the day.
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BlackRock’s dominance in the ETF space is growing too. IBIT now manages over $54 billion in Bitcoin, securing more than 50% of the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market share, based on Dune Analytics.
Market observers believe this kind of institutional accumulation is providing Bitcoin with “structural support” not seen in previous cycles. Bitget’s chief analyst Ryan Lee emphasized that retail activity remains muted, meaning the price rally above $94,000 has been mostly fueled by large players.
Alexander Stefanov
