BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Nears 200K BTC, Passing Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy

In less than two months of existence, the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) has accumulated more bitcoin (BTC) than MicroStrategy (MSTR).

According to the fund’s latest disclosure, IBIT held 195,985 bitcoin on Friday after another day of significant inflows. Meanwhile, the most recent public statements from MicroStrategy show the company as of Feb. 26 held 193,000 tokens.

It’s possible that MicroStrategy has added to that total since, as the company earlier this week priced a $700 million capital raise with intentions to use the funds to purchase more bitcoin.

Since the launch of the spot ETFs on Jan. 11, BlackRock’s IBIT has often added hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bitcoin on a daily basis, establishing itself as the largest of the new spot products (excepting the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which was converted from a closed end fund).

Next in line for IBIT would be Grayscale’s GBTC, which has lost more than 200,000 bitcoin since the spot products opened for business, but still holds around 400,000 tokens.

Massive demand for the new spot ETFs is the key reason for bitcoin’s more than 60% price surge this year. The cryptocurrency topped $70,000 for the first time ever Friday morning, eventually reaching a fresh all-time high of $70,136, according to data from CoinDesk Indices. At press time, bitcoin was trading at just under the $70,000 mark.