The allure of “digital gold” continues to captivate investors, even amidst periods of less-than-stellar returns. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), a leading spot Bitcoin ETF, is poised to conclude 2025 with an astonishing achievement: despite a full-year negative return, it has attracted tens of billions of dollars in capital inflows, remarkably surpassing the world’s largest gold exchange-traded fund.
According to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence, IBIT’s cumulative net inflows this year have reached an impressive $25.4 billion. This places it as the 6th highest-ranking ETF in the U.S. by capital attraction, outperforming not only the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq 100 index, but also the venerable SPDR Gold ETF (GLD).
What makes this performance truly intriguing is the stark divergence between capital flows and asset performance:
- Gold’s Resurgence: Fueled by robust central bank purchases and escalating geopolitical tensions, gold prices have soared by nearly 65% throughout the year.
- Bitcoin’s Correction: In contrast, Bitcoin has experienced a significant downturn, pulling back approximately 30% from its October peak of $126,000. Currently oscillating around $88,000, this correction has resulted in IBIT registering a year-to-date cumulative return of -9.59%.
In traditional investment paradigms, negative returns typically trigger capital flight. However, IBIT’s sustained ability to attract over $25 billion signals a profound shift in market sentiment. This suggests that institutional investors are no longer succumbing to panic selling amidst volatility but are instead adopting a more sophisticated, systematic “buy the dip” strategy for Bitcoin.
Bloomberg: IBIT’s Negative Return, Positive Signal – A Long-Term Bullish Indicator
Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas underscores the significance of this capital flow, labeling it an exceptionally strong bullish signal. “IBIT is the only ETF on the 2025 Flow Leaderboard with a negative return for the year,” Balchunas noted.
$IBIT is the only ETF on the 2025 Flow Leaderboard with a negative return for the year. CT’s knee-jerk reaction is to whine about the return but the real takeaway is that is was 6th place DESPITE the negative return (Boomers putting on a HODL clinic). Even took in more than $GLD… pic.twitter.com/68uq3HFRuO
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) December 19, 2025
James Thorne, Chief Market Strategist at Wellington-Altus, posits that this trend signifies Bitcoin’s official “financialization.” He elaborates that Bitcoin’s performance is increasingly detached from that of a speculative tech stock, instead mirroring the behavior of a mature macroeconomic commodity:
“Observing Bitcoin’s current trading patterns, whether in market microstructure or narrative management, it increasingly resembles the trend of gold over the past few decades, strongly dominated by institutions. The price reflects not just basic demand, but more the position layouts, product designs, and investment preferences of large financial intermediaries.”
IBIT’s remarkable performance in 2025 unequivocally demonstrates that Bitcoin ETFs are far from a fleeting phenomenon. Despite gold’s substantial price appreciation, IBIT has successfully cemented its place at the core of institutional investment portfolios, even emerging as a more favored option over gold within alternative asset allocations.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for market information purposes only. All content and views are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice. They do not represent the views and positions of BlockTempo. Investors should make their own decisions and transactions. The author and BlockTempo will not bear any responsibility for direct or indirect losses resulting from investor transactions.
