BlackRock Bitcoin ETF IBIT Beats GLD in Year-to-Date Inflows

The BlackRock Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) has outperformed the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) with $6.96 billion in YTD inflows, surpassing GLD’s $6.5 billion. IBIT’s growth follows a trend of increased investor interest in cryptocurrency investments. Despite gold’s 29% price rise, GLD has faced substantial outflows, while IBIT’s momentum remains strong, reaching $59.64 billion in AUM. Analysts predict IBIT may overtake GLD’s AUM in coming years.

The BlackRock Bitcoin ETF, known as IBIT, has recently outperformed the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) in terms of year-to-date (YTD) inflows, marking a significant change in investment patterns. Analyst Eric Balchunas from Bloomberg highlighted this trend, emphasising the shift towards cryptocurrency-oriented investments amid increasing global adoption of digital assets, which seems to be captivating investors at an unprecedented rate.

As of now, IBIT has recorded YTD inflows nearing $6.96 billion for the year 2025, surpassing GLD’s approximately $6.5 billion in the same timeframe. This occurrence is especially eye-catching given that gold has appreciated by 29% in price this year. Still, GLD has had a tough time keeping investor interest alive, grappling with considerable outflows since the start of 2024, including around $2.6 billion withdrawn between January 11 and February 14 alone, although it appears to have rebounded somewhat since then.

Contrastingly, IBIT has shown strong growth since its launch in January 2024, accumulating a staggering $44.25 billion in net inflows. Notably, the ETF achieved a record day on November 7, 2024, pulling in $1.12 billion in a single day, noteworthy as the highest daily inflow recorded for any Bitcoin ETF so far.

In terms of weekly performance, IBIT shone brightly last week with $2.48 billion in net inflows, its strongest weekly result since last December. Furthermore, April saw net inflows of $2.69 billion, all while Bitcoin’s price faced challenges, illustrating resilience in investor confidence.

Over the previous year, IBIT has successfully amassed over $27 billion in total, managing to maintain stability with only one month of outflows, where it lost $775 million in February 2025. This steady performance reflects a growing trust in Bitcoin’s potential, especially among institutional investors.

Diving into assets under management (AUM), IBIT has reached $59.64 billion, positioning itself as the eleventh-largest ETF in BlackRock’s iShares portfolio that boasts over 400 funds. For some perspective, IBIT’s AUM jumped from zero at its January 2024 launch to $15 billion in just eight weeks, reaching $30 billion by October 2024 in a record time of 293 days—an achievement GLD took almost five years to accomplish.

Interestingly, this surge in IBIT’s performance comes despite Bitcoin’s modest YTD price increase of around 4%, while gold has soared more significantly. Analysts suggest if IBIT continues at this trajectory, it may catch up to GLD’s AUM of $98.6 billion in the next few years. Over the last month alone, IBIT’s price has surged by approximately 22.86%, moving from $44.98 to $55.27, while GLD has increased by around 13.47%.

It’s apparent that investor affinities are shifting, and while gold still carries its weight, Bitcoin is rapidly becoming a favoured choice, as evidenced by IBIT’s impressive metrics. But, of course, this content is purely for informational purposes and should not be construed as financial advice. As ever, potential investors are advised to conduct thorough research before making any decisions, as this article reflects purely the author’s viewpoints, and The Crypto Basic does not hold responsibility for financial losses incurred.