$79.6 billion. That is what BlackRock’s digital asset products held on 30 September, according to its third-quarter results, up from $48.8 billion at the end of June.
Net inflows were $7.9 billion for the quarter. CoinDesk, which reported the figures on 14 October, put the market gains at $22.9 billion, so roughly three dollars in four of the increase came from prices rising.
The inflows matter because of what came before. They more than offset about $2.2 billion of outflows in the first half of the year, which means the first six months were a net withdrawal and the third quarter reversed it. Quarterly net flows into these products are the figure BlackRock’s own results make easiest to track.
Over twelve months the picture is weaker. CoinDesk reported net inflows of $6.3 billion, set against $30.6 billion lost to falling prices, and holdings about 23 percent below the nearly $104 billion BlackRock managed a year earlier.
BlackRock did not break out the iShares Bitcoin Trust, so the release does not show how much sits in bitcoin and how much elsewhere. Without that split, the headline reads as one number where there are really several products. The group figure also does not separate customers who are buying from those who are simply holding what they bought.
The test is the next quarter, and it is a plain one. Bitcoin slid below $81,000 on 15 October, and whether the $7.9 billion stays put when prices fall is the number to watch.
