As the cryptocurrency market showed minimal strength over the past week, institutional investors continued to exhibit interest in several assets, as evidenced by net inflows into BlackRock’s spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In this line, the world’s largest investment manager accumulated more than $600 million worth of cryptocurrencies in a week, led by strong inflows into its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and modest buying in the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA).
Data for the period between March 9 and March 13 shows that BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF attracted about $600.1 million in net inflows.
The fund recorded $109.3 million in inflows on March 9, followed by $185.8 million on March 10, $115.3 million on March 11, $46.1 million on March 12, and $143.6 million on March 13.
In comparison, inflows into BlackRock’s Ethereum ($ETH) ETF were significantly smaller and more volatile. The fund posted $32.4 million in inflows on March 13, $18.7 million on March 12, and $18.8 million on March 11, while March 10 saw no flows.
However, the week began with a $55.1 million outflow on March 9, leaving the fund with a net weekly inflow of roughly $14.8 million tied to Ethereum.
Across both funds combined, BlackRock accumulated about $614.9 million worth of cryptocurrency exposure during the five-day period.
Overall, the data indicate a clear divergence in institutional demand between the two largest digital assets. While Ethereum flows were mixed and relatively modest, Bitcoin ETFs experienced consistently strong inflows throughout the week, with BlackRock’s IBIT accounting for the majority of the capital entering the market.
BlackRock $ETH staking ETF
Notably, a key highlight of the week was the launch of the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB) by BlackRock on Nasdaq.
The product stakes up to 95% of its ether holdings to generate yield, offering investors both price exposure and staking rewards in a regulated ETF format.
It debuted with over $100 million in assets and recorded about $15 million in first-day trading volume, marking progress for yield-generating crypto investment products following recent regulatory advances.
These ETF flows come as Bitcoin trades near $71,600 and Ethereum around $2,100, with both assets rebounding from earlier-year pressure. To this end, institutional buying is helping stabilize prices by absorbing supply despite geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.
Although March inflows remain below February peaks in some analyses, the shift from outflows to steady buying signals growing mainstream adoption through regulated investment vehicles.
Featured image via Shutterstock
