BlackRock Bitcoin ETFs Reaches $100B Mark Faster Than Vanguard’s $VOO

Key Highlights

• Bitcoin ETFs and IBIT Options have triggered a significant market infrastructure shift, notes a crypto commentator.
• Bloomberg Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas earlier highlighted BTC’s rise, a previously unseen phenomenon.
• Increasing regulatory clarity is expected to further boost institutional adoption.

Eric Balchunas highlighted the impact of Bitcoin ETFs. He noted that BlackRock’s IBIT is leading the disruption. He emphasized how these products are reshaping the ETF industry, pointing out their growing influence among investors.

IBIT reached the $100 billion milestone significantly faster than Vanguard’s $VOO. This raised important questions about market structure.

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETFs (IBIT) Hits $100B AUM at Record Pace

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF hit $100 billion in assets under management. It reached this milestone in just 400 days, making history in 2025.

Bitcoin Spot ETFs received regulatory clearance only in January 2024 and have since ballooned rapidly. Vanguard’s $VOO took 2000 days to reach the $100 billion AUM mark.

Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF offers instant and diversified exposure to the top 500 public companies in the United States. This ETF covers nearly 80% of the US market capitalization. It also acts as a proxy indicator for the health of the US Economy.

IBIT’s rapid growth shows Bitcoin’s transformation. It moved from a speculative niche asset to one increasingly favored by institutions. This shift highlights its growing legitimacy. It also underscores its role in reshaping investment strategies.

BlackRock’s IBIT signaled approval from traditional finance. It shifted BTC’s image from a volatile, speculative asset to one worthy of institutional adoption. This move opened the door for broader acceptance. It also marked a turning point in how legacy markets view digital assets.

BlackRock is not the only established institution investing in Bitcoin; multiple major institutions have followed its lead. Other major US names with BTC Spot ETFs include Grayscale, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton, among others.

Bitcoin ETFs’ AUM hit an all-time high of $165.18 billion on October 8th last year. Around the same time, IBIT clocked $100 billion in net assets.

IBIT recorded $1 billion in AUM in less than a week after the ETF hit the market. The $10 billion mark was reached in roughly three months.

Bitcoin ETFs Analyst Eric Balchunas Notes Shift

Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said in an interview that the growth of U.S. Bitcoin ETFs is unprecedented. He emphasized that in his 20 years covering ETFs, he had never seen anything comparable to their rapid rise.

Eric Balchunas highlighted a new milestone in ETF history. He said a BTC ETF just reached $100B in net assets. He pointed to IBIT’s record ascent as proof of this achievement.

Additionally, CryptosRus, a market commentator on X, cited Balchunas’ interview. He pointed out how IBIT options volume was rising simultaneously:

“$IBIT options are already among the top ETF options by volume, and Balchunas notes $IBIT options are now effectively the largest #Bitcoin options market in the world. That’s liquidity, derivatives depth, and institutional positioning forming at record speed.”

However, despite the record pace of reaching AUM milestones, volatility remains a characteristic of Bitcoin ETFs. Bitcoin ETFs’ AUM fell over $40 billion between January 2026 and early February 2026, amid Bitcoin’s sharp fall below the $70,000 mark.

A New Normal

In December 2025, Vanguard allowed its customers to invest in Bitcoin spot ETFs through their Vanguard accounts. The asset management giant has been criticized for not launching crypto spot ETFs.

Vanguard’s December move marked a significant move; pensioners form one of Vanguard’s biggest investor cohorts. Vanguard’s ETFs are the bellwethers of long-term capital outlook. The December move suggests that there’s strong demand from old money.

Bitcoin ETFs are now expected to outshine Gold ETFs. IBIT and other Bitcoin Spot ETFs marked the entry of big institutional money into crypto. Vanguard’s recent move to allow BTC ETF investments for its investors followed it.

The SEC approved 10 Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024. This decision allowed institutional giants like BlackRock to gain significant exposure to crypto.

Regulatory clarity was a denominator to all these moves. Therefore, increasing deregulation and increasing regulatory clarity across geographies could further catalyse institutional demand for Bitcoin.

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