To say that the spot bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs) exceeded expectations in their first year on the market is an understatement at best. Instead, it might be more accurate to say that they’ve shocked the industry to its core.
“Just how big was the first year for Bitcoin ETFs?” Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart wrote on X. “MASSIVE.”
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) had the most successful launch in the history of U.S. ETFs, accumulating more than $52.3 billion worth of assets in its first year (a combination of large inflows and the sharp rise in the price of bitcoin), according to Seyffart.
Three of the other spot bitcoin ETFs, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) — were also among the top 20 U.S. ETF launches of all time.
The last twelve months in crypto were “momentous,” said Matt Horne, head of digital asset strategists at Fidelity Investments. Indeed, FBTC is the fund management giant’s largest exchange-traded product at nearly $19 billion in assets under management, according to the company website.
“While we were optimistic for the launch of the bitcoin ETPs, demand exceeded our expectations across all client segments including retail investors, advisors, institutions and beyond,” Horne said. “Given these products have seen tremendous asset growth and now have a year of performance, we expect to see continued adoption across both the advisor and institutional client segments.”
Where to go from here?
While some hedge funds or pension funds allocated modest money into the spot ETFs, the majority of inflows came from nonprofessional investors. That, however, could change.
“The record flows occurred despite the foot dragging by some wire houses, financial advisors and some U.S. financial firms prohibiting employees from even owning bitcoin or altcoins in their personal portfolios,” Mark Connors, founder and chief investment strategist at Risk Dimensions, told CoinDesk.
“With more support from the RIA/Advisors and wire houses likely and the tailwind of price, 2025s flows will easily surpass 2024s,” he added.
According to Nate Geraci, president of the ETF Store, 2025 could be the “Year of Crypto ETFs.” He predicts that over 50 more crypto ETFs will be approved under new leadership at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including spot Solana and XRP funds, as well as options-based and equities-based products.
“Gary Gensler always referred to crypto as the “Wild West,” Geraci wrote in a post on The ETF Educator. “Under the Trump administration, I think that is exactly what we’ll get from an ETF perspective.”