Cryptocurrency Market News: BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Largest, RoaringKitty Fuels Meme Coins
Bitcoin (BTC) briefly crossed $70,000 on Monday after spending most of last week below that mark. However, it was BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) that grabbed headlines after toppling Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) as the largest spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) by assets.
In addition, U.S. President Joe Biden vetoed a crypto bill that passed both houses of Congress and a Japanese crypto exchange was hacked for more than $300 million worth of bitcoin. Meanwhile, Keith Gill, the man behind the meme-stock frenzy in 2021, fueled a rally in some meme coins with his latest bet.
A little over four months since it began trading on Jan. 11, BlackRock's bitcoin ETF became the largest spot bitcoin ETF by assets, passing Grayscale's GBTC for the top spot. At the end of May, IBIT's assets stood at $19.5 billion while GBTC's were $19.385 billion.
GBTC is the oldest fund, with bitcoin investments that converted to an ETF when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allowed spot bitcoin ETFs earlier this year. At that time, GBTC's assets surpassed $24 billion.
However, as soon as other comparable products began trading, investors pulled large sums of money out of GBTC, resulting in roughly $17.9 billion in net outflows since Jan. 11. In sharp contrast, BlackRock’s IBIT has reported substantial inflows, pulling in about $16.6 billion this year, according to Farside Investors.
The disparity in fees between Grayscale's ETF and other bitcoin ETFs from Blackrock, Fidelity, and others has played a crucial role in the competition that Grayscale's fund has faced. For example, GBTC charges a 1.5% fee, while IBIT comes with a 0.25% fee.Notably, Grayscale plans to soon launch an alternative spot bitcoin ETF offering with
