BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF a true rarity: massive inflows even with negative performance

Spot bitcoin ETF investors may have shown themselves to be anything but momentum chasers this year.

While it's no secret that BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has been a wild success since it opened for business in January 2024, data compiled by Bloomberg's crack ETF analyst Eric Balchunas shows that success in another light.

So far in 2025, IBIT ranks sixth out of all ETFs in inflows, bringing in more than $25 billion of investor cash. In a list of the top 25 funds by inflows, ranked first is Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF (VOO) with $145 billion, and ranked 25th is the iShares S&P 100 ETF (OEF) with $10 billion.

Of the entire list of those top 25, noted Balchunas, IBIT is the only one with a negative return for the year — down 9.6% as of midday Friday. Even the SPDR Gold ETF (GLD) — in eight place with $20.8 billion — took in less money than IBIT despite showing a massive 65% advance in 2025.

"Crypto twitter's knee-jerk reaction is to whine about the [BTC] return," said Balchunas. "But the real takeaway is that it was 6th place DESPITE the negative return (boomers putting on a HODL clinic)."

"That's a really good sign long term," he continued. "If you can do $25 billion in bad year imagine the flow potential in good year."