IBIT

arBettor

Yeah, different sites can definitely show conflicting data at times. I'm actually kind of confused why IBIT would have underperformed at all this year when apparently it ended last year at a 0.46% discount to NAV and closed yesterday at a 0.07% premium to NAV. That should have given it a 0.53% tailwind, yet it's still apparently underperformed by 0.24%. Only 0.083% of fees so far, so that can't be it. Eh, I think I'll just remain slightly confused for now.

arBettor

I don't think those numbers are right. As of yesterday's close I'm seeing IBIT +2.21% and Bitcoin +2.59% YTD. The expense ratio is 0.25% annually so there's no way IBIT would be trailing by 2.45% over 4 months as a result of fees.

bigchallah

100 shares of IBIT

harvested

1 month: VTI: -1.25% GLD: 7.31% IBIT: 12.20%

Freedom_58

Yes, pretty much. When BTC goes up 5%, IBIT will follow @around 5%.

acorcuera

YTD - IBIT -2.08%. BTC +.37%. The difference is mostly the fees.

smashkraft

The first commenter gave you a better answer, I'm going to aim for simpler. Yes, IBIT is 1:1 BTC / Bitcoin. IBIT is "pegged" to bitcoin. "Pegging" means that BlackRock holds as much Bitcoin as in invested in the ETF. $100 in the ETF is $100 worth of Bitcoin held by BlackRock for you. Every day, BlackRock (Fidelity, GreyScale, etc.) buy and sell real bitcoin on your behalf and on behalf of everybody else that buys and sells the ETFs. BlackRock doesn't, generally speaking, buy and sell bitcoin randomly according to BlackRock. They buy and sell when holders of the ETF buy and sell. The ETF prices change according to the price of Bitcoin. If Bitcoin rises by 10%, then the ETF rises by 10%. If Bitcoin falls by 5%, then the ETF falls by 5%.

Action949

I sell out of the money call options on IBIT religiously. Brings in cash when they expire worthless. Sometimes I have to roll them out and up, but it’s been great so far. In the event there is some kind of god candle that wrecks my shirt calls, it will be more than made up for by the increase in my cold storage. (And gets to be booked as a loss for tax purposes)

No_Enthusiasm_4185

Your thinking is good, you’re right about selling your puts a few months before expiry and roll into new ones. If your goal is really just to insure against the worst case, then you’d just have to buy the same number of puts than what your current holdings of BTC in USD divided by the price of 1 share of IBIT in USD gives. You would effectively be insured and if bitcoin dips under the strike, your holdings plus your puts would Sum to the strike price you set at expiry. If you buy more than the number of puts given by this calculation, you’d fall under speculation in the world of finance. But maybe that’s what you want. If your insurance did get triggered, you’d end up with a bigger gain than what you’d have lost. If you don’t plan in anyway to withdraw before 12/12/27 even in the worst case, I’d say it’s a good way to insure. It’s what’s commonly done to hedge in finance.

JustinInIndy

Probably more than that. I own over a whole coin worth of IBIT and FBTC in my Roth IRA.

GivePeaceaChancex10

The only guarantee we have currently is inflation, taxes and risk. That means you don't hold USD in simple savings or a checking account. That's the only sure answer of where not to go. Where TO go though is all up for debate and the case can be made for multiple assets. All I can say for sure is not USD, so I diversify into everything else to give me some reassurance. My investment portfolio is made up of a 401k with generous matching program allocated to mostly large cap index funds. Domestic, large and mid cap, emerging market's and international indices. Then I contribute to a Roth IRA. Within are S&P based ETF's, some individual equities, IBIT and FBTC as my picks for BTC ETF's. Then I hold 2 brokerage accounts and trade options some, but mostly buy and hold various individual stocks that are spread throughout multiple sectors. I hold real estate, both a primary home and secondary. I inherited and kept mineral rights where I collect natural gas royalties. I have an HYSA so save against inflation or at least to pace it and have a savings I can fall back on I hold Bitcoin of course. I held onto but don't allocate anymore into some ethereum I bought years ago. Then I have some physical assets, like some precious metals, jewelry, a worthwhile valuable coin collection, a couple vintage guitars, some antiques. Last but not least my wife and I have invested into our education and ourselves as far as our careers. We make decent money at our day jobs to the point where I only work part-time 2 days a week now and could make more if I wanted. Like I said everything, I'm diversified into just about everything I can be in. That's what helps me sleep at night

PortlandGangland

Robinhood then sending to cold storage Also buying some IBIT incase anything happens to your cold storage stack

No_Enthusiasm_4185

Find how much your holdings are worth in IBIT shares and buy that same number but in put options on IBIT with their strike being the lowest price of bitcoin you’d be willing to have. You’ll have to renew this position every time your options expire. But buying options as a hedge is actually a good thing to do rationally. You’re hedging yourself against the fat end of the tail, the worst of the worst outcomes. Usually, if done right, your risk adjusted return on bitcoin will end up lower.

Nice_Category

I have an IBIT call that expires by Friday. I need Bitcoin to be around $105,000 by then, please.

thupkt

If you aren't sure you want to hold it until nearly the time you die, if not longer by your heir(s), you can also consider IBIT or FBTC tickers on wall street. That's where most casually interested players are best served participating in the BTC game.

Sundance37

Hell yes, put money in a Roth, then buy IBIT, then withdraw it tax free in 40 years.

ModestGenius66

Get Bitcoin risk in a tax efficient way. IBIT or MSTR. Unless your pension account is really fat, I don’t think overpaying is an issue. You’ll likely live healthy for longer than you think (unless you’re fat).

Darkerjev

Diversifying is the safe mainstream advice. But is it the right one for you? If you ever hope to change to a higher wealth class, then the goal is wealth accumulation. Diversifying is playing it safe, and will take a long time to get wealthy. “Diversifying is simply selling your winner for the losers” - Michael Saylor Im all in bitcoin. I have my own personal bitcoin stash in my cold wallet. A minor amount on exchanges. My Roth IRA is all IBIT or MSTR. My HSA is all MSTR. My 401k is 50% IBIT and 50% vanguard stocks only because it would allow me to go 100% bitcoin etfs. You can say it’s dangerous all you want, in 10-15 years I will be the millionaire while you “play it safe” selling your winner for the loser…. Make the right choice. Do your research.

Freedom_58

If you want to invest in Bitcoin but don't want to go the Coinbase route, consider buying a bitcoin ETF, like IBIT or FBTC. Just another option for people who want the potential of Bitcoin. I have Bitcoin, FBTC IBIT MSTR etc. You decide.

OpticallyMosache

Buy $IBIT and enjoy the gains.

NashDaypring1987

Thank you. Will do. I started to buy IBIT in Roth and MSTR in my taxable account.

Freedom_58

Thank you! May I suggest something for you? Since you have 4 years before you retire, do this, if you haven't already thought about it. Max your Roth 401k. Of course, check for income limitations. You can contribute up to $8000 since you're 50 and over. Contribute to your 401k but only enough to take advantage of your employer's matching. Add to your brokerage account. After taking care of your family budget and maintaining your emergency fund, you can buy more Bitcoin. Or you can buy Bitcoin proxies in your brokerage account. IBIT FBTC MSTR etc. Just thought this may help you. Good luck!

cheese20202

dislikers can hate all they want. at the end of the day, if you put $10,000 in BTC and it rises 30%, you will have $13,000. same thing with IBIT.

efermi

For your IBIT portion, you should REALLY consider self-custody instead. If you want bitcoin to succeed, staying decentralized is part of that. At least look into it.

NashDaypring1987

I think you made the right choice. I agree with other posters.. you should keep some BTC on a cold wallet. I do all three: IBIT (Roth and low operating expense), MSTR (leveraged BTC play), BTC on Leger HW wallet.

alineali

Hmm, now they are almost on par with IBIT

Analog_AI

OP, in the case of IBIT, yes, you are reducing the supply available for sale, because they are required by law to keep bitcoin and their claims on a 1:1 basis, since they are a spot ETF. The futures ETFs don't have to keep their bitcoin holdings at 1:1 ratios, or indeed any bitcoins. Those are disreputable companies.

abercrombezie

BlackRock earns revenue from its iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) through management fees, regardless of whether retail investors are buying or selling shares. Of course, it’s probably more beneficial if Bitcoin is bull since it tends to generate more volume, thus more earnings on fees.

ManlyAndWise

I don't know how much Bitcoin I own. If I say "I have 1.4 BTC in IBIT and at my broker", people answer "not your keys, not your coins". So the only Bitcoin I own is the around $3000 in my cold wallet. Then I also have 800+ shares of MSTR, which have an intrinsic BTC value (undiluted) of 1.6 BTC. But then I don't own the Bitcoin of that, only the shares; like that guy Saylor, who thinks he owns $9bn in bitcoin, but actually doesn't because he doesn't have the keys, so not his coins. So actually I own $3000 in Bitcoin, but I am stacking. I am "only" 59, so banking on several more years of stacking before I call it a day. Someway I feel quite relaxed about the future, though...

Savik519

Yes, they buy and sell according to what holders of the IBIT ETF are doing. 

Freedom_58

From what I read in your past, you need to learn more about Bitcoin. I don't claim to know everything about Bitcoin but it's a large part of my portfolio. I also have MSTR, IBIT FBTC, and Bitcoin miners. I will sell those before I sell Bitcoin, if ever.

Astropin

I'm in my late 50's. I went on a search for a financial advisor and Bitcoin was my litmus test. Result? I'm my financial advisor. My entire Roth is in actual Bitcoin in cold storage (multi-sig). Around half of my SEP IRA is the same...the rest of it is in MSTR and IBIT. I hold zero bonds. My plan is to retire in 2029. No...I will not be cashing out then. I will live off of it or borrow against it.

analbumcover

I agree, that's why I said I wanted at least some exposure, but I'm not going to turn my world or personality into being the dude who never shuts up about crypto. I have some BTC and ETH in cold wallets, occasionally add to them on down swings. I have some IBIT in my Roth IRA that I add to every now and then. I feel like that's good enough for me.

KiNg-MaK3R

can't tell you how many people told me I shouldn't take half my 401k and put it into IBIT when the ETFs came out. I'm still going to wait a few more years until I send that screen shot.

Glad-Flamingo-93

Just open a brokerage account with exposure to US markets and just buy IBIT, it’s an ETF. You’re welcome

wss-tosser

Mix of IBIT and MSTR shares, selling covered calls, and buying ITM leaps.

Savik519

Keep in mind the tax consequences of selling your stack as well as gains from covered calls. Maybe start a new portfolio with a small amount of money and buy IBIT, sell calls and see how it goes

ItsPickles

If that was the case we would see 99% allocations to IBIT, MSTR, BTC

clicksanything

People have money trapped in 401k/retirement pensions etc that can’t buy the real thing, so BTC-derivatives like IBIT is the next best thing for them to get price exposure to the real thing at the cost of not having true self-custody. Thats one example. In general it depends on your goals as an investor and the type of account you’re investing in. If you’re looking for consistent income and focused on cash flow, stocks like MSTY/IMST might be up your alley. If you’re focused on growth and can do it in a tax advantaged acc like me, stocks like MSTR and prob XXI (currently CEP) are prob the way to go.

Live_Jazz

What would be the rules around harvesting with two ETFs, eg IBIT and FBTC? Too similar? I think you can do it with two different S&P 500 etfs, but not sure about the legal limits there.

Ark3tech

It's a really good tax loss harvest hack. Just alternate between IBIT and spot BTC for tax season, if you have losses. That way you technically didn't buy the same thing back right away, even though you kinda did.

mhoepfin

I’m always in IBIT with 10% of my liquid net worth. As per my risk tolerance, I will rebalance when it becomes overweight or underweight so I’m fine with whatever.

phishery

Exact same strategy! I also had some money market that I had been reserving. I still have a bit more there i am happy to deploy to IBIT when the time is right.

phishery

I have been rebalancing towards BTC using IBIT especially in my IRA/ROTH

prince_peepee_poopoo

In a situation like this, does anyone see a scenario where MSTR or IBIT counts towards the USA? Not like we've ever seized gold or anything.

ManlyAndWise

We'll have to disagree on this. To me a shock event would be something like IBIT/Coinbase being defrauded of a lot of coins, because this would undermine the foundation of most on which institutional investment is based. A guy buying villas and boats, or even hookers and cocaine, would not even register on my radar screen.

Mental-Health-Crisis

That as well plus you can't buy IBIT in Europe.

Todd1001

So why not just buy a btc etf? FBIT or IBIT?

clicksanything

...I was replying to the comment that if only given the choice between IBIT or MSTR, that the latter is the better pick. Im well aware of the risk/reward ratio between owning MSTR vs BTC lol I've owned a fair amount of both for a while now. Also if you think Strategy has potential of bankruptcy at any point in the near future I don't think you understand MSTR.

clicksanything

Yep. Buy MSTR. Buy shares of an operating company that holds half a million bitcoin that in the future they will be able to do stuff with, instead of buying an overnight deposit IOU that says you "own" bitcoin. (IBIT/FBTC)

annoyed_meows

I have 670 IBIT ETF shares in IRA and taxable accounts. I didn't want to put energy into owning Bitcoin so owning this and retirement account benefit got me buying.i I bought since inception and im up pretty well atm, impressed with it's recent pump while all my equities are beaten the fuck down. It's pretty easy to do. But if you buy now it might take a while to see gains. A strategy I have is to wait a little until it's down then buy. Always the risk that it simply won't go down. But it swings enough that you can catch some dip buying. Or make it easy and buy on auto weekly or whatever. Manual purchasing keeps me engaged.

JerryLeeDog

I have IBIT (Blackrock) an also FBTC (Fidelity) IBIT is just a brand name I would trust over most others, and FBTC actually holds their own keys. Fidelity is ahead of he curve IMO for self custodying it themselves. Cheers

j_st3t

I disagree. The IBIT etf for example has all the bitcoin custodied in cold storage in a collaboration with Coinbase. I dont know exactly how they operationally handle flows, and rebalancing though., but would consider it much less risky than any account you have on an exchange in terms of cybersecurity. I also just checked shwab and they are quoting ibit 4bp wide while I'd be paying way bigger fees or crossing way wider spreads on exchanges. I think when I had a coinbase years ago their bid/ask was 70bp wide or something outrageous.

Designer_Speech8942

If you are in the U.S., you’ll need a parent to open a custodial brokerage account for you. When you turn 18, you will convert it into a cash account in your name and your assets will be transferred. You can open these custodial account with most of the major brokerages. Fidelity, Charles Schwab and E*Trade are all low-cost and routinely handle these conversions. I’m sure that other brokerages do as well but I’m most familiar with the three listed above. Since you are new to crypto, you may want to purchase a bitcoin ETF (e.g. IBIT, FBTC, BTCO, etc.) first. This will give you an exposure to bitcoin without the issues surrounding custody. In the interim, learn about bitcoin and other cryptos. Financial planner Ric Edelman wrote a book for beginners in 2023 that isn’t too out of date. Start with that, find some reputable crypto YouTube channels (e.g. Digital Asset News, InvestAnswers, Anthony Pompliano’s channel, etc.) and subscribe. Learn about proof-of-work vs proof-of-stake, crypto cycles, fiat money, M2 (money supply), self-custody, and hot wallets vs cold wallets. Give yourself a year of study before you start buying cryptos themselves. Take your time, there is a lot to absorb … and none of it is intuitive. Remember, there are no shortcuts but you have an awesome headstart over your peers. Good luck.

ir88ed

Same. Custodial Roth's with IBIT and actual BTC to pass on.

Analog_AI

There are centralized exchanges as well as p2p platforms. Alternatively, you can use IBIT though there you cannot take possession of your coins.

ThinkBig247

Last year I maxed out my Roth IRA with 100% IBIT... Doing the same this year. My friends I'm crazy.

a_wild_thing

You’re not wrong but this man is an IBIT customer and a year ago believed most of the lies, give him a moment for pity’s sake.

andys811

BTC, perp longs, futures, MSTR, IBIT, who the fuck cares (okay maybe MSTR admittedly more risky and perps are pointless without leverage which makes it more risky too).

KIG45

>Of course, both of these institutions hold encumbered BTC. Unlike Satoshi’s trove of self-mined BTC stored on personal wallets with no known claims of third-party ownership, millions of third parties have legal claim to the BTC at BlackRock and MicroStrategy. >BlackRock holds all of its 573,187 spot BTC on behalf of IBIT shareholders around the world. These coins are not an asset of the corporation but rather the assets backing its exchange-traded fund (ETF). >In a somewhat similar yet distinct way, MicroStrategy holds its 538,200 BTC as an indebted corporation. >Millions of MSTR shareholders own their slice of the company’s equity, including its encumbered BTC, so it is not fair to consider these 538,200 coins as owned by any particular person, either. Despite everything, Satoshi remains the largest single owner and may these bitcoins never be moved!

cosmologicalpolytope

Obviously holding Bitcoin in self custody is the best solution but the ETF’s have value for moving funds from a retirement portfolio into IBIT or FBTC without triggering a taxable event.

theothersidex

IBIT stores their coins on coinbase/with a third party. A lot of people don’t trust this due to being burned in the past. Look into FBTC, as they actually hold their own coins.

Previous_Basil

Fidelity and every other name brand brokerage on the planet have entire marketing, risk assessment, & legal teams devoted to considering every possibility in regards to government intervention and other risks before spending millions to launch a brand new product, regulated by the SEC, and putting their brand name on the line with it (FBTC, IBIT, etc.). It’ll be fine. This Bitcoin cold storage worship/gatekeeping/elitism is extremely stupid and next time you find yourself engaging in it you should stop before you allow this notion that you’re some form of Bitcoin cowboy because you cold store to creep into your brain. 🙄 Nobody cares; I’ll take my FBTC and reap the benefits & convenience of holding a position in Bitcoin without custodying it myself. Mostly because I understand that in this doomsday scenario that y’all love to consider, where FIAT loses its value entirely and the world adopts Bittcoin as primary currency, we’ll ALL have a hell of a lot more to worry about than whether we self-custody. If the dollar truly falls to Bitcoin (it won’t for the foreseeable future, certainly not in my lifetime), the world economy will have colllaosed entirely and we will be in a blackout situation, not worried about the government trying to seize my assets and prosecute me for a anti-gold hoarding act last used to charge someone in 1935.

AmbitiousSkirt2

Yeah I appreciate it and I’m not gonna let people sway me on IBIT I’ve done the research and it’s literally a great way to invest in bitcoin you don’t just have to invest directly lol. There’s good benefits to holding an etf that directly tracks it

AmbitiousSkirt2

I just have both I have IBIT because I already had an entire portfolio and wanted to add diversity to my portfolio. I don’t see an issue holding both.

AmbitiousSkirt2

Don’t know what you’re getting at here man I own actual bitcoin just not as much as IBIT. IBIT has its advantages and I have a big part of my portfolio allocated to IBIT which directly follows the price of bitcoin lol. It’s literally just an etf version that has advantages

AmbitiousSkirt2

Yeah man that’s what I’m saying the advantages to IBIT are definitely real and they are good perks lol. I own some actual bitcoin but I own more IBIT and I would have never done this before 2025. I wouldn’t even think about having 20-30% of my portfolio in IBIT at the end of last year lol. I’m gonna keep adding to IBIT and actual BTC as well over time I’m gonna stick to a schedule but I appreciate it though this is a very informative community I learned alot that opened my eyes to bitcoin recently through the posts here

AmbitiousSkirt2

Thanks yeah I didn’t see a reason why IBIT wasn’t a good investment because it follows IBIT I also have actual bitcoin as well just not as much. Slowly but surely I’m gonna keep adding I appreciate it I learned alot about it here I read a lot of posts to educate myself lol. And I’m glad I did

ManlyAndWise

Congrats OP. Not everybody has the mental acuity and the intellectual honesty to change his mind when there is a big emotional investment in a certain opinion already. You are certainly invested in Bitcoin when you own IBIT, and you own the Bitcoin indirectly through the fund, same as if you buy a stock and shares fund you are invested in stocks and shares, indirectly through the fund. I see the risk of confiscation as minimal, but the tax advantages, the ability to deal in options and the peace of mind concerning custody as very real. However, I am also slowly building my own cold storage as "excrement hits the ventilator" fund, which allows me to slowly get more confident with cold storage. I think you are doing it fine, and you will likely increase your BTC exposure as your confidence in BTC's future grows.

KryptoSC

Welcome to the orange-pilled community. Actual Bitcoins or IBIT, it doesn't matter, as long as you are in the game.

AmbitiousSkirt2

Gotcha yeah your last line is legit my thinking right now “it makes perfect sense to not do it before you are fully convinced” I’m convinced but I also believe in the perks of holding a bitcoin ETF. Mainly because of the taxes. But I want peer to peer decentralized. And I also hold Bitcoin by itself just less than my IBIT position.

AmbitiousSkirt2

I guess saying you own IBIT is incorrect lol. Don’t care though I’ll keep adding to my actual bitcoin and IBIT position I appreciate you

AmbitiousSkirt2

I’m still learning brotha and before this I was a bitcoin hater and wanted nothing to do with it. So I don’t know every single detail about bitcoin. I’m just making a positive post that people can change their mindset on bitcoin. I currently hold some actual bitcoin and IBIT is a huge part of my portfolio which follows bitcoin

swmkygp

Have you considered starting with IBIT the ETF instead

Meanmanjr

If you have no knowledge of Bitcoin, just buy an ETF, IBIT or something. Once you learn more, you can use Coinbase / Hardware wallet.

clicksanything

Buy MSTR instead. Buy shares of an operating company that holds half a million bitcoin that in the future they will be able to do stuff with, instead of buying an overnight deposit IOU that says you "own" bitcoin. (IBIT/FBTC)

Money_Storm8799

Why pay taxes and the penalty? I'd buy IBIT or FBTC inside the IRA.

Alternative_Ad_4544

You might get tax penalty if you do that. I'd just buy IBIT instead. NFA.

Bubbly_Ice3836

Sure. Here is some latest news about Bank of America: "BAC's 13F filings show client-held positions in each of the six top ETFs tracking Bitcoin's spot price, with the largest valued at $21.78 million in the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). The 13F filing indicated that clients held the shares since Q1 2024, with an increase of 249,292 shares reported in Q4." Source: https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/25/04/44882284/warren-buffett-dislikes-bitcoin-but-berkshire-hathaway-finds-itself-linked-to-btc-etfs-through-one-of-its-biggest-holdings Like it or not, all roads lead to bitcoin. The more important question is, why do you trust the bankers, and not the actual fact that Bitcoin has the lowest supply growth rate?

Nearing_retirement

Easiest is just use etf like IBIT. There are downsides to it but I don’t think they are realistic for a newcomer. Later on you can decide to buy direct and set up wallet.

acorcuera

Last week I just added $20k in IBIT. Personally I think this is a good price point. To each his own.

yldf

Sell 5 contracts of short-dated OTM IBIT puts until they are all assigned.

greenpride32

I've always thought a big "flaw" in the system if you want to call it that, is lost private keys means supply will decrease over time. I suppose a main argument of perceived value is the scarcity. But what good is a unit of value when it becomes too scarce? Somebody passes away, they didn't share their private key; it's all lost. Others are going to lose keys by accident or due to hardware failures. Write it on paper, store it digitally and big fire or explosion could destroy the key. Leave the private key somewhere, you pass, heirs didn't know what it was and lose it. So many ways to lose the keys. My background is in tech softwrare engineering and web services - golden rule is to limit exposure to private key as much as possible and rotate resource that utilizes private key as frequently as possible (or in other words resetting the key). You don't hand it out like candy. I don't see these losses being beneficial to the long term value. Once something become too scarce it loses liquidity as supply is in smaller number of hand by defintion. How can a primary store of value not have liqudity? Let's all use da Vinci paintings as store of value - how many people can own one? How many zeros after the . are we going to use as the supply diminishes over time? Full disclosure - I'm no crypto expert. I have a small investment in BTC from years ago for fun. I wish it wasn't so small but TBH I would have never thrown more at it without benefit of hindsight. I had considered buying some IBIT a few times but have yet to pull the trigger. Feel free to poke holes in my opinon and enlighten and educate me.

xaviemb

It's easier if you think of MSTR or IBIT as being BTC that is removed from the network, not Bitcoin owned by two entities. Sure, people can sell IBIT... but MSTR isn't selling any BTC... so effectively, contrary to what you think might, the **more** they buy, the more **distributed** BTC actually is for everyone else, because their slice is off the table "forever, Laura" making the total supply smaller, and the portion of the total supply everyone else has relatively larger to what's outside of their vacuum.

iamez221

Also interesting from the article: For the year to date, Bitcoin ETF flows remain positive at $215.2 million, despite the recent outflow trend. IBIT leads with $2.3 billion in net inflows for the year, while GBTC has experienced the largest outflows at $1.23 billion.

Gdiworog

Blackrock does not own any BTC. They buy for their IBIT customers.

diarioechohumo

Yes, IBIT ETF @ 5.25% for about 180k on margin

nickoaverdnac

I think the ETF inflows and election caused that. A false start. It’s been great stacking the roth IRA with $HODL and $IBIT

onebtcisonebtc

It is easy to understand because when you buy an ETF it is not written that you own any amount of Bitcoin or sats... So, if you buy 100k of IBIT, it is not related to \~1BTC, just the price variation from that time you bought on...

8A8

likewise, I'd consider someone holding $100k USD worth of $IBIT a 'wholecoiner', and there may be many wholecoiners that do not have custody of their Bitcoin. These would all be consolidated into a few addresses on the blockchain. So what number is greater? the number of individuals that hold multiple BTC on separated addresses? Or the number of individuals that hold >1 BTC on an exchange/ETF?

BQbaobao

Good question. I’m also curious who would be on the hook in the event of a paper bitcoin situation. I own some IBIT in my Roth and this worries me.

neilio416

Why not create an account in their name and put bitcoin etf shares (IBIT) in there? In Canada we have accounts where gains are tax free, the funds just need to be used for education purposes. Not sure American options but "529 plan" looks close.

CallMeMoth

It might. If you have the option to do self directed trading (many 401ks allow this but require a waiver) you can yolo into IBIT

jarviez

Honestly, for a guy like you, and the various Bitcoin ETFs are in fact what you need. (HODL, FBTC, etc etc.) You buy them on a regulated stock trading platform. The issuer of the ETFs probably has to be insured or have taken steps to prevent loss via hacking/theft. You can spread out the risk amongst different ETFs, for example HODL, FBTC, and IBIT all use different costodians for the Bitcoin they acquire to back there ETF. This means that even if all of your "shares" are on a single training platform, like Fidelity or Charles Schwab, you can still spread out the risk because the actual Bitcoin that backs your shares is in different places YES ... It's not your keys so not your Bitcoin BUT let's be real. This is the option for people who are paranoid about self custody and loosing their own keys. Even the "Plan B" guy on X and YouTube announced a month or two ago that he sold all his Bitcoin and moved all that capital over to the the ETFs. He took a lot of heat from the hard core self custody faction of the community, but he made the choice that he thought was best for him.

Chemical-Oil2657

I think he ist european so its not IBIT i aussume

SmoothGoing

Shouldn't make much difference. Many individuals and orgs bought up billions of something like IBIT. It doesn't matter if some chart bro trusts it or not. Way bigger fish than him did their due diligence with their own money. And for the most part the ETFs will track bitcoin price in the same way since that's their purpose. The expense ratio and ETFs custodian selection may be more important factors than some dude's choice.

DinnerPuzzled9509

I would assume IBIT. But why did he sell and buy ETF? Sounds like a dumb move. Why pay fees on your Bitcoin and give up self-custody?

Ineedmorebtc

just use coinbase, or buy some ETFs like IBIT while you learn.

Mercurius88888

Ok, we are different. 😀 I am not involved in BTC to make a profit here and there. I don't trade it, apart from selling options on IBIT to generate premiums. But I do hold spot BTC as a backup plan for the long term. I appreciate the decentralization and resistance to censorship, and it's a great hedge against the current financial system we're all heavily exposed to anyway. It makes me sleep well at night.

420osrs

I split my coins 50-50. In my IRA, I have shares because you can't put coins in a traditional IRA. In my taxable brokerage, again, shares. in my wallet, coins. The cool point about having IBIT in a taxable account is you can borrow money against the shares usually. So if I get in a situation where I need to go buy a car instead of getting stealership financing at 22% I can get financing against my own assets at 5.5%. No ore payment penalty and no dealer finance charge.  Gotta be careful though. If you have 100k in shares, you really don't want to borrow more than 40k. Ideally less than 20k against it. You guys might not remember it, but I watched Bitcoin go from 16k to 300. Made the 1929 stock market crash 2008 look like a picnic for ants. And I'm gonna watch it crash from 80k to 40k. Then I'm going to watch it crash from 1 million to 800k.