BlackRock’s European iShares Bitcoin exchange-traded product, IB1T, has passed $1.1 billion in assets under management and held roughly 14,200 BTC as of May 4, 2026. The product launched in March 2025 and trades on Euronext Amsterdam and selected other European exchanges, giving non-U.S. institutions a regulated route into bitcoin exposure.
IB1T reaches a new scale little more than a year after launch
Data cited in the report shows IB1T has grown into one of BlackRock’s main bitcoin vehicles outside the United States. Trading under the ticker IB1T, the ETP has crossed the $1.1 billion mark in just over a year. That matters because it points to sustained institutional buying in Europe rather than demand tied only to the U.S. ETF market.
When BlackRock launched the European product in March 2025, its U.S. spot bitcoin fund, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), had already become the world’s largest spot bitcoin ETF by assets. It still holds that position. The rise of IB1T extends BlackRock’s bitcoin product footprint beyond the U.S. and shows that institutional adoption is not confined to one regulatory market.
IBIT remains dominant in the U.S. while Europe builds its own momentum
In the U.S., IBIT has led bitcoin ETF inflows through 2026. During one week in late April alone, the fund brought in $824 million, more than all other U.S. bitcoin ETFs combined over the same period. Even after a brief stretch of outflows near the end of April, the report says IBIT kept its structural edge in attracting institutional capital.
Europe’s IB1T is moving on a different regulatory track. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs expanded after the SEC approval process opened the market in January 2024. In Europe, institutions largely operate under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, or MiCA, along with existing ETP structures. The frameworks are different, but the demand pattern now looks similar on both sides of the Atlantic.
The milestone adds weight to the case for global institutional demand
The article argues that IB1T crossing $1.1 billion is significant because it developed under European rules rather than through the U.S. approval model. For that reason, the milestone is seen as evidence that regulated bitcoin exposure has become a broader institutional trend, not a byproduct of one market’s mechanics.
The move came on the same day bitcoin climbed above $80,000 for the first time in weeks. According to the report, institutions were absorbing more than 500% of the daily mined bitcoin supply. Across its global bitcoin products, BlackRock now holds about 773,990 BTC, placing it among the largest institutional holders of bitcoin worldwide.