BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust has seized the title of largest ETF in the crypto industry with more than $21 billion in assets, ending Grayscale's grip on the top spot.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust, or IBIT, flipped the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, or GBTC, which had held pole position since the funds converted from trusts into fully fledged ETFs.
BlackRock is now closing in on Grayscale's Ethereum fund as well. The Grayscale Ethereum Trust still holds just over $4.9 billion in assets, down from almost $10 billion last month, while BlackRock's ETHA has pulled in more than $742 million and is on track to cross $1 billion if the pace holds. Fidelity's FETH follows with over $281 million, ahead of Bitwise's ETHW at $232 million and VanEck's ETHW at $65 million.
Much of that momentum traces back to BlackRock's reach in traditional finance. The firm manages more than $10.6 trillion, and its flagship products dwarf anything in the crypto market, including the iShares S&P 500 fund with over $497 billion and the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF with more than $117 billion.
On cost alone, BlackRock's Ethereum product is not the cheapest option. ETHA carries a 0.25% expense ratio against the 0.15% charged by Bitwise's ETHW, and both funds hold their ether with Coinbase, the largest US exchange and custodian with over $171 billion in assets.
Ethereum demand is also proving weaker than Bitcoin's was at launch, when IBIT reached $1 billion within a few weeks. The reason is structural rather than a matter of marketing.
Ethereum behaves differently as an investment because staking is built into the network. ETF investors forgo that yield, which stood at 3.50% on Wednesday, on top of the 0.25% fee they already pay. The result is an annual opportunity cost of roughly 3.75%, a drag that compounds heavily for anyone holding for years.