In a significant development for the cryptocurrency market, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) faced unprecedented net outflows totaling $332.6 million on Thursday. This marks the highest daily cash withdrawal in the ETF’s history, outpacing the previous record of $188.7 million set on Christmas Eve. During this tumultuous day, trading activity for the IBIT reached a remarkable $2.26 billion, raising questions about the factors driving these shifts.
What Influenced the Outflows?
Market analysts speculate that the significant outflows may relate to current market dynamics or strategic portfolio rebalancing among participants. Although the net inflows for IBIT have not reached the impressive figures seen in December 2024, the ETF still leads the sector with a total net inflow of $36.9 billion and a total net asset value of $53.5 billion.
How Are Other ETFs Performing?
In contrast to BlackRock’s situation, Bitwise’s BITB fund recorded a net inflow of $48.3 million, and Fidelity’s FBTC fund attracted $36.2 million. Other companies, such as VanEck and Ark Invest, also experienced positive inflows. However, Grayscale’s GBTC faced a decline with net outflows of $23.1 million. Overall, total net outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs reached $242.3 million on the same day.
Spot Ethereum ETFs were not exempt from the trend, experiencing net outflows of $77.5 million. The Bitwise ETHW fund accounted for $56.1 million of this total, while Grayscale’s ETHE saw outflows of $21.4 million. The trading volume for spot Ethereum ETFs climbed to $397.2 million, yet the total net inflow held steady at $2.58 billion.
- BlackRock’s IBIT ETF hit a record outflow of $332.6 million.
- Bitwise’s BITB and Fidelity’s FBTC showed positive inflows.
- U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw total net outflows of $242.3 million.
- Ethereum ETFs also faced significant outflows totaling $77.5 million.
As the cryptocurrency market adjusts to these significant outflows, Bitcoin’s price saw a minor increase of 1.3%, trading at $96,690, while Ethereum rose by 1.44% to reach $3,457, indicating a complex landscape for both assets.
