BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Crushes Its Own S&P 500 Fund in Revenue—Crypto Flexes Muscle

Wall Street’s crypto darling just schooled its legacy counterpart.

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF—the $IBIT behemoth—has outgunned its own core S&P 500 fund in revenue generation. No asterisks, no caveats. Just raw alpha.

The takeaway? Institutional money isn’t just dipping toes in crypto waters anymore—it’s doing cannonballs. Meanwhile, traditional finance clutches its pearls and recites ‘this time it’s different’ like a mantra.

One cynical footnote: If this keeps up, BlackRock might need to rebrand its S&P fund as the ‘nostalgia portfolio.’

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF breaks record

According to a recent Bloomberg report, the iShares bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is now generating more annual fee revenue than BlackRock’s flagship iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), despite managing far fewer assets.

IBIT, with an expense ratio of 0.25%, is projected to earn $187.2 million in annual fees. In comparison, IVV, despite managing nearly $624 billion in assets, generates $187.1 million, due to its much lower 0.03% fee.

This means that even with just $52 billion in assets, IBIT now outpaces IVV in revenue. 

The contrast underscores how crypto ETFs’ premium fee structures are proving highly profitable, offering asset managers a surprising advantage as Bitcoin adoption continues to grow.

Execs celebrate the success

Remarking on the same, Nate Geraci, President at NovaDius Wealth Management, told Bloomberg:

“IBIT overtaking IVV in annual fee revenue is reflective of both the surging investor demand for Bitcoin and the significant fee compression in Core equity exposure.”

He further added,

“Although spot Bitcoin ETFs are priced very competitively, IBIT is proof that investors are willing to pay up for exposures they view as truly additive to their portfolios.”

As expected, various crypto execs also commented on this momentum, as noted by crypto entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano, who took to X and said,

 “Bitcoin has Wall Street’s full, undivided attention now.” 

Echoing similar sentiments was crypto trader Cade O’Neill, who added, 

“Institutions aren’t just curious anymore, they’re committed.” 

IBIT’s performance so far

This coincided with BlackRock’s recent $638.5 million Bitcoin purchase, totaling 6,088 BTC, which reinforces the deepening institutional conviction surrounding the asset.

Despite spot Bitcoin ETFs experiencing their first day of net outflows after a 15-day inflow streak on 1st July, BlackRock’s aggressive acquisition signals long-term confidence rather than short-term concern.

In fact, to date, IBIT has recorded $52.4 billion in inflows since January, far outpacing rivals like Fidelity, as per Farside Investors.

This growth, alongside Bitcoin’s price surge to $108,974.54, at press time, further illustrates how BTC is steadily moving from a speculative fringe to a CORE component of institutional macro strategies.