iShares Bitcoin Trust Surpasses S&P 500 in Year-Long Returns

The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has seen a remarkable return since its debut in January 2024, outperforming the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (VOO) with a cumulative return of 71% compared to VOO's 66% over the same period. According to Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at iShares, the path of IBIT's growth has been 'like a rollercoaster'.

IBIT is currently the largest Bitcoin ETF by assets under management (AUM), with over $6.14 trillion in AUM, while its second-largest competitor, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, manages around $1.1 trillion. iShares submitted an application for a physically-settled Bitcoin ETF in 2023, which caused a stir in the crypto market by offering traditional investors exposure to Bitcoin with higher trading activity than other similar ETFs.

Investors have been pouring money into IBIT, with over $2.8 billion deposited from August 17 to 27, making it the highest level since October 2023 when Bitcoin set a new record high.

Bitcoin itself saw a brief surge to $81,281 last week before retreating and currently trading at around $77,539, with a 24-hour decline of nearly 1%. Over the past month, Bitcoin has seen a cumulative increase of almost 30%.