S&P 500 · Bitcoin · Bitcoin ETF · Bloomberg · CryptoSlate
BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF barely beat the S&P 500 after putting investors through a 53% crash
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BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has narrowly outperformed the S&P 500 since launch despite subjecting investors to a drawdown nearly three times as deep.
Key facts
- BTC traded near $47,000 when US spot ETFs debuted in January 2024 and later surged to a record high of around $126,000 in 2025 following Donald Trump's election victory
- The iShares Bitcoin Trust, or IBIT, returned 67.74% from its Jan. 11, 2024 debut through Aug
- IBIT, now the largest spot Bitcoin ETF, manages about $60 billion in assets and has accumulated roughly $63 billion of inflows since launch, giving BlackRock’s less-than-three-year-old product
- IBIT’s worst peak-to-trough decline reached 53.30% between Oct. 6, 2025, and June 30, 2026
Summary
01 BlackRock’s IBIT returned 67.74% since launch, narrowly surpassing Vanguard’s VOO at 66.14% through Aug. 31. 02 The similar gains concealed sharply different investor experiences, with IBIT suffering a 53.30% drawdown versus VOO’s 18.69%. 03 Bitcoin’s recovery erased much of its earlier advantage, leaving volatility and fund maturity central to the comparison. The iShares Bitcoin Trust, or IBIT, returned 67.74% from its Jan. 11, 2024 debut through Aug. 31, compared with 66.14% for Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF, or VOO, on a total-return basis that reinvests dividends.