BlackRock’s digital assets chief Robert Mitchnick said that more than 90% of Bitcoin ETF investors, including retail, financial advisors, and institutions, have followed a steady accumulation strategy.
Speaking to CNBC today, Mitchnick said retail investors “are some of the most long-term focused” and have tended to “buy the dip” when markets decline, while hedge funds account for a smaller share of more tactical trading activity.
“The only part of the demand base where we do see some tendency towards short-termism is the roughly 10 or so percent that is actually comprised of hedge funds,” said Mitchnick when asked what ETF flows reveal about crypto investor behavior.
He added that these investors have employed different trading strategies such as basis trades, going long on spot ETFs, and shorting futures contracts. These trades are largely market-neutral but can create temporary inflows or outflows in ETF data.
“But the other kind of 90 plus percent of the investor base,” Mitchnick emphasized, “have tended to be very steady and have been on an accumulation path pretty consistently.”
He noted that despite declines in the price of Bitcoin, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, IBIT, ranked among the top ETF inflows globally in 2025, drawing about $26 billion and placing fourth worldwide by inflows even as the asset posted negative returns.
“There’s clearly been a lot of selling pressure elsewhere in the Bitcoin ecosystem, on crypto exchanges, on these offshore levered perps platforms,” Mitchnick said. “But the ETF investor base has taken a much steadier, longer-term fundamental view of things.”
Bitcoin and Ether dominate crypto ETF demand
Commenting on investor demand for crypto assets, Mitchnick reiterated that it remains overwhelmingly concentrated on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
While BlackRock sees interest in other crypto assets, it takes “a very discerning approach” to expanding crypto offerings within its iShares ETF lineup.
“We continue to evaluate those as conditions evolve and as maturity, liquidity scale, and use cases develop,” he said.
Staking transforms Ether ETF economics
This week, the leading asset manager launched ETHB, its staking-enabled Ether ETF. The fund drew in over $43 million in net inflows on its trading debut, per Farside Investors.
Earlier Ethereum ETFs did not capture staking rewards, leaving investors unable to participate in the network’s native yield.
The new structure addresses that limitation, adding an income component that many portfolio allocators view as a meaningful incentive and one that could help narrow the adoption gap with Bitcoin products.
Despite the constraint, BlackRock’s flagship Ethereum ETF, ETHA, became the third-fastest ETF ever to reach $10 billion in assets under management, following only IBIT and FBTC.
With staking yield now incorporated, the firm expects that ETHB will become a dominant ETF vehicle for Ether exposure.
Mitchnick called the fund a near-silver bullet for investors seeking convenient exposure.