BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is set to close 2025 as a top-tier force in the US financial landscape. The fund achieved a rare feat in asset management by raising billions of dollars while losing money for its investors.
Data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence confirms that IBIT secured the sixth spot on the US ETF leaderboard by net inflows.
Institutional ‘Dip Buying’ Drives $25 Billion into IBIT Despite Negative Returns
The fund attracted $25.4 billion in fresh capital throughout the year, outpacing traditional heavyweights such as the Invesco QQQ Trust and the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD).
This capital flood occurred despite a stark divergence in asset performance.
While gold surged nearly 65% in 2025—driven by central bank buying and geopolitical hedging—IBIT posted a year-to-date loss of 9.59%.
The fund’s performance suffered as Bitcoin retreated approximately 30% from its October record high of $126,173, trading near $88,000.
Typically, negative returns trigger capital flight.
However, IBIT’s ability to attract $25 billion during a correction signals a fundamental shift in investor behavior. It shows that institutional allocators are systematically buying the dip rather than panic-selling volatility.
Considering this, Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas characterized the inflows as a definitive bullish signal for the asset’s long-term trajectory.
“IBIT is the only ETF on the 2025 Flow Leaderboard with a negative return for the year,” Balchunas stated.
Meanwhile, James Thorne, Chief Market Strategist at Wellington-Altus, argues that these flows validate the “financialization” of Bitcoin.
According to him, the digital asset now behaves less like a speculative tech stock and more like a mature macro commodity.
“Watching how Bitcoin now trades, the market microstructure and narrative management increasingly resemble the way gold behaved for decades under heavy institutional influence, with price action reflecting not just fundamental demand, but also positioning, product design, and the preferences of large financial intermediaries,” he added.
For the broader market, BlackRock IBIT’s 2025 performance proves that the Bitcoin ETF is not a fad. It has successfully entrenched itself in institutional portfolios, flipping gold as the preferred “alternative” allocation even when the precious metal vastly outperforms on price.
As the year ends with Bitcoin trading at a discount to its highs, the smart money is betting that the infrastructure BlackRock built will drive the next leg up.
