Billionaires Are Buying a BlackRock Index Fund That Could Soar Up to 73,000%, According to Wall Street Experts

In the first half of 2024, the billionaires listed below started positions in BlackRock's exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the spot price of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). The fund is called the iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ: IBIT). Their positions remain small, but their ownership is still noteworthy because they manage the three best-performing hedge funds in history as measured by net gains, according to LCH Investments.

• Ken Griffin of Citadel Advisors bought a net total of 63,186 shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust. The position represents less than one-tenth of a percent of his $494 billion portfolio.

• David Shaw of D.E. Shaw & Company bought a net total of 2.6 million shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust. The position represents one-tenth of a percent of his $107 billion portfolio.

• Israel Englander of Millennium Management bought a net total of 10.8 million shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust. The position represents two-tenths of a percent of his $216 billion portfolio.

Bitcoin more than doubled in value over the last year, and some Wall Street experts are predicting monster gains in the coming decades. Indeed, one forecast leaves room for Bitcoin's price to appreciate 73,000% by 2045, which implies equivalent gains in the iShares Bitcoin Trust. Here's what investors should know.

Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani estimates Bitcoin could reach $500,000 by 2029 and $1 million by 2033 as the cryptocurrency is made increasingly mainstream by spot Bitcoin ETFs. The latter figure in that forecast implies about 1,390% upside from its current price of $67,000.

Cathie Wood at Ark Invest estimates Bitcoin could hit $3.8 million by 2030, provided that institutional investors "allocate a little more than 5% of their portfolios to Bitcoin," which she sees as a likely outcome. That forecast implies 5,570% upside from its current price.

MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor estimates Bitcoin will reach $13 million by 2045, though he sees a bear-case scenario where it stops at $3 million and a bull-case scenario where it surges to $49 million. Saylor's base case implies 19,300% upside from the current price, but the bull case implies 73,000% upside.

Those Wall Street bulls have at least one thing in common. They believe spot Bitcoin ETFs will unlock demand among institutional investors. Importantly, institutions have about $120 trillion in assets under management. Even a small percentage of those assets allocated to Bitcoin could cause its price to increase substantially.