The old-school asset management giant is flexing its muscles in the race to establish a foothold in bitcoin exchange-traded funds with a stellar first week. As Bernstein analyst Gautam Chogani explained in a note to clients on Thursday, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was an early winner among spot bitcoin ETFs approved last week. The fund has raised $1 billion in net inflows, and while trading volume has slowed somewhat after the huge first day, the fund already has cumulative volume of more than $2 billion. “We are excited to see strong early client demand for IBIT, especially within both the end-investor and advisor communities. This exemplifies our commitment to providing clients with access to various assets of their choice, and our ability to deliver high-quality products for all types,” said Jay Jacobs, Head of Investment Funds. Thematic and active U.S. trader BlackRock, in a statement: The only bitcoin fund with more assets than IBIT is Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which already had about $29 billion when it switched from an over-the-counter product to an exchange-traded product. However, the fund saw about $1 billion in net outflows over the past week, according to FactSet. GBTC’s outflows are not unexpected. The fund traded at a discount to its net asset value for a long period before converting to an ETF, so it’s likely that Some shareholders are waiting for a conversion to help bridge the gap before making a move.The cost of funds may also work against Grayscale, as the fund has an expense ratio of 1.5%, which is much higher than its competitors.Grayscale said its size and track record justify a premium. Even with GBTC outflows, Bitcoin spot funds still saw hundreds of millions of net inflows, according to FactSet. It is not clear how much of the money left GBTC was redirected towards cheaper funds. “GBTC with a 150 basis point fee versus roughly 20 basis point fee for the rest means cheaper ETFs will continue to absorb GBTC outflows,” Bernstein’s Chogani said in a note. “In this context, net inflows of $900 million remain impressive.” “. After IBIT, funds from Fidelity Wise Origin (FBTC), Bitwise (BITB), and Ark 21Shares (ARKB) are next in terms of assets among new funds, according to FactSet.