The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT 1.43%) is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of Bitcoin (BTC 2.00%). The fund is run by BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world. Bitcoin currently trades at $115,000. But several Wall Street analyst have made predictions that imply big gains in the remaining months of 2025.
- Geoff Kendrick of Standard Chartered says Bitcoin can hit $200,000 this year. That implies 74% upside from its current price. Kendrick also believes Bitcoin can hit $500,000 in 2028.
- Peter Chung of Presto recently told CNBC Bitcoin can hit $210,000 this year. That implies 82% upside from its current price.
- Tom Lee of Fundstrat Advisors thinks Bitcoin can hit $250,000 this year. That implies 117% upside from its current price. Lee also believes Bitcoin can eventually reach $3 million.
- Josh Olszewicz of Canary Capital recently told Schwab Network Bitcoin can hit $300,000 this year. That implies 160% upside from its current price.
Here's what investors should know about the iShares Bitcoin Trust.
Image source: Getty Images.
More institutional investors are adding Bitcoin to their portfolios
Boston Consulting Group says institutional investors had about $130 trillion in assets under management (AUM) last year. If even a small percentage of that total were allocated to Bitcoin, its price could increase substantially in the future. And spot Bitcoin ETFs like the iShares Bitcoin Trust have been a powerful catalyst for institutional adoption since winning approval from the SEC in January 2024.
To elaborate, spot Bitcoin ETFs let investors add exposure to the cryptocurrency through existing brokerage accounts, which means they avoid the high fees and complexity that comes with trading on cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase. Moreover, SEC approval has legitimized Bitcoin in the eyes of institutional investors.
Recently filed Forms 13F show an important trend: The number of large asset managers (i.e., those with $100 million in securities) with positions in the two most popular spot Bitcoin ETFs -- the iShares Bitcoin Trust and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund -- more than doubled during the first quarter. Investors have good reason to believe that trend will continue.
President Trump vowed to make the United States the "crypto capital of the world" during his campaign last year, and his administration has already brought big changes to the regulatory environment. Cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins is now the SEC chairman, and in March, Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Another reason institutional investors are likely to become more involved in cryptocurrency is the asset class (now worth a collective $3.8 trillion) has simply become too big to ignore. And Bitcoin is the most logical starting point because it is the largest, most liquid, and best-known cryptocurrency, according to Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan.
More public and private companies are putting Bitcoin on their balance sheets
More than 200 public and private companies have added Bitcoin to their balance sheets, and the number of Bitcoin they hold has increased 85% since Trump won the presidential election in November, according to Bitcoin Treasuries. Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) is the best known, but Block, Mara Holdings, Semler Scientific, Tesla, and Trump Media also have large positions in the cryptocurrency.
Importantly, I think more companies will add Bitcoin to their balance sheets in the years ahead for the same reasons discussed in the previous section: Spot Bitcoin ETFs have made adoption easier, cryptocurrency as an asset class is too big to ignore, and the regulatory environment under the Trump administration is much friendlier than under the Biden administration.
Bitcoin has declined sharply on several occasions in the past
Investors should bear in mind the forecasts I've discussed are nothing more than educated guesses. There is no guarantee that Bitcoin becomes more valuable in the future. And even if the forecasts are entirely accurate, gains are likely to be interspersed with periods of sharp declines. Bitcoin has fallen more than 20% from a record high three times in the last three years, and similar volatility is probable in the future.
I think patient investors comfortable with those risks should have a position in Bitcoin, and the iShares Bitcoin Trust -- which bears an expense ratio of 0.25% -- is a relatively cheap and easy way to get that exposure.
