BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), the largest publicly traded fund tracking Bitcoin, has reported its largest outflow yet since its launch almost a year ago. On Thursday, investors took a massive $332 million out of the fund, breaking the earlier record $188 million extracted just weeks ago in December.
IBIT, with over $53 billion in assets, has been a big hit since its January launch, drawing institutional investors and propelling Bitcoin to its all-time high of $108,315 in mid-December. But the recent outflows show that Bitcoin’s record-breaking run in 2024 is beginning to lose steam. This marks the third straight day of outflows for IBIT, which is its longest losing streak since its inception, according to Bloomberg data.
This is not unique to BlackRock’s fund. U.S. Bitcoin ETFs have seen outflows of around $2 billion as a group since December 19, and the open interest of Bitcoin futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange has fallen by nearly 20% from its peak last month. Market observers say these outflows could be part of year-end portfolio adjustments or risk reduction by institutional investors.
Despite the recent pullouts, IBIT is the largest Bitcoin ETF, holding approximately 552,000 BTC worth over $51 billion in assets. The fund had a great run in 2024, sitting third on Bloomberg’s ETF leaderboard with a year-to-date inflow of $37 billion and trailing only two behemoths in the space: VOO and IVV index funds.
While some perceive these outflows as a way to indicate a lack of market assurance, others find it as perhaps the result of common rebalancing within portfolios. The trend in question remains questionable up to date whether in the near term, it will continue and whether the investment trust will retrieve confidence from its investors.
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