Bitcoin investors have been pouring capital into BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, IBIT, for over three consecutive weeks, underscoring renewed institutional enthusiasm as the flagship cryptocurrency flirts with record highs. On May 6 alone, the fund attracted 280 BTC — worth approximately $36 million — extending its inflow streak to 16 straight trading days, according to data from HODL15Capital. BlackRock Outshines Rivals with 16-Day Inflow Streak The surge in demand is helping drive momentum behind Bitcoin’s price, which climbed as high as $97,500 during early trading on May 7, though it later pulled back slightly to around $96,538, per CoinGecko. Nate Geraci, President of ETF Store, took to social media to reflect on the milestone: “I remember when naysayers didn’t think spot Bitcoin ETFs would take in $5 billion in total last year. IBIT alone has done this in a few weeks.” The fund, which launched in January, has now raked in approximately $4.7 billion in inflows since April 9, making it the only U.S.-listed spot BTC ETF to see net inflows this week. Competitors like Grayscale’s GBTC saw a sharp $90 million outflow on May 6, contributing to a total daily ETF net outflow of $86.4 million, according to Farside Investors. Analysts See Long-Term Potential in IBIT Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that sustained inflow performance by IBIT could signal longer-term trends in institutional crypto investing. “It inspires confidence in our call that BTC ETFs will have triple gold’s ETF assets under management in 3 to 5 years,” he commented. Meanwhile, ETF competition continues to heat up. On the same day, BattleShares filed for four new ETF products, each designed to pit Bitcoin’s performance against Ether and gold using combinations of long and short strategies. One such product aims to go long Bitcoin while shorting Ether — a strategy that Balchunas jokingly suggested should bear the ticker “MAXI.” Macro Factors and State Legislation Beyond ETF inflows, sentiment around Bitcoin also received a boost from U.S. state-level policy developments. On May 6, New Hampshire passed legislation supporting the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve — becoming the first U.S. state to do so. “The odds of multiple states passing Strategic Bitcoin Reserve legislation into law just went up by a massive amount today,” remarked Satoshi Action Fund CEO Dennis Porter. Further buoying market optimism were reports that the U.S. and China plan to engage in high-level trade discussions in Switzerland this weekend, potentially easing tensions that have long rattled global financial markets. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the meeting, emphasizing a desire for “fair trade” over economic decoupling. The post BlackRock IBIT Nears $5B Inflows as BTC Briefly Touches $97.5K appeared first on TheCoinrise.com .
