BlackRock Now Holds 3.8% of Bitcoin Supply; Bloomberg Analyst Explains Why It’s ‘Extraordinary’

The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, now holds 3.8% of the total Bitcoin supply through its iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas has described this development as wild, noting that Equity ETFs cannot match this stat despite being significantly older than IBIT.

‘Bonkers:’ Expert Comments On BlackRock’s Ownership of 3.8% BTC Supply

In an X post, Balchunas described IBIT’s ownership of 3.8% of Bitcoin’s supply as bonkers. He explained that an equity ETF would need to have $2.2 trillion in assets to have a similar ownership stake in its underlying asset class. The Bloomberg analyst gave an example of how SPY owns 1.1% of most stocks, and it is 32 years old, while IBIT is still a ‘toddler’.

The BlackRock Bitcoin ETF launched just last year and has $87.7 billion in net assets, representing 3.8% of BTC’s total supply. Notably, the asset manager just filed to amend its IBIT ETF under the new generic listings standard, which could help boost the fund’s operation and contribute to an increase in net assets.

Meanwhile, Balchunas had earlier highlighted the collective success of the Bitcoin ETFs. He revealed that they took in $7.8 billion in the third quarter of this year, and their net inflows now stand at $21.5 billion year-to-date (YTD) and $57 billion since they launched.

This came as the Bloomberg analyst sought to emphasize that BlackRock’s IBIT and other BTC funds have contributed to the flagship’s crypto growth since their launch last year. He had earlier noted that the Bitcoin price is up 340% since these ETFs came into the picture.

Second Only Behind Satoshi Nakamoto

It is worth noting that BlackRock is the second-largest holder of Bitcoin, behind only its founder, Satoshi Nakamoto. Satoshi holds $1.12 million BTC while the world’s largest asset manager holds 768,264 BTC.

Interestingly, Balchunas predicts that the asset manager could become the largest Bitcoin holder by next summer, overtaking Satoshi, if its IBIT ETF continues to witness net inflows at a record pace.

He also remarked at the time that the timeline could be shorter if BTC reaches $150,000 in the next few months, as there may be a “feeding frenzy” from advisors. This frenzy may already be underway, particularly with the second-largest asset manager, Vanguard, considering providing access to crypto ETFs amid growing demand from its clients.

BlackRock’s IBIT could be one of the products that Vanguard chooses to offer to its clients, which would provide a major boost for the Bitcoin ETF, considering the asset manager’s large client base.