BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) returned 67.74% from its Jan. 11, 2024 debut through Aug. 31, narrowly ahead of Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF (VOO) at 66.14% on a total-return basis, a lead of just 1.60 percentage points highlighted by Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. The thin edge came with far greater volatility: IBIT’s maximum drawdown reached 53.30% from Oct. 6, 2025, to June 30, 2026, versus 18.69% for VOO from Feb. 19 through April 8, 2025. Bitcoin traded near $47,000 at the U.S. spot ETF launch, rose to a record around $126,000 in 2025 after Donald Trump’s election victory, then fell as low as roughly $58,000 before recovering to about $77,000. IBIT, the largest spot bitcoin ETF, manages about $60 billion with roughly $63 billion of inflows since launch, while VOO crossed $1 trillion in net assets in June 2026. BlackRock has recommended a 2% bitcoin allocation for investors seeking diversification and long-term return potential.