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BlackRock’s <a href="https://bbg-news.com/btc-usd/">bitcoin</a> ETF sheds $528 million, the second-largest daily outflow on recordMarkets

What to know:

  • BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust saw $527.84 million in net outflows on Wednesday, its second-largest single-day withdrawal since launching in January and just shy of its record.
  • The 11 U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs together lost $733.43 million that day, extending a multi-session streak of outflows that has pulled more than $2 billion from the complex over two weeks as bitcoin slid below $73,000.
  • A $1.29 billion dark-pool block sale in IBIT on Tuesday and May’s shift from ETF accumulation to distribution suggest institutional investors are trimming bitcoin exposure amid heightened Middle East tensions and macro uncertainty.

The BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust saw $527.84 million flow out of the fund on Wednesday, marking the second-biggest single-day decrease since its launch in January 2024, according to data from SoSoValue.

The recent figure was very close to setting a new record. The largest outflow from IBIT was $528.3 million on January 30th, and Wednesday’s outflow was only about $500,000 less than that. With roughly $59 billion in assets, IBIT holds nearly 4% of all bitcoin, making it the biggest way for institutions to invest in the cryptocurrency.

Wednesday saw a significant sell-off of U.S. bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with a total of $733.43 million leaving the market. Fidelity’s FBTC and Grayscale’s GBTC experienced particularly large outflows, losing $60.30 million and $104.76 million respectively. This continues a recent trend, as these ETFs have now seen over $2 billion in withdrawals over the last two weeks.

Bitcoin’s price fell below $73,000 at the same time as a surge in selling activity. On Thursday in Asia, the cryptocurrency traded for $72,978, a 3.4% decrease over the previous 24 hours. This drop was triggered by U.S. airstrikes on a military site in Iran, which revived concerns about conflict that the market had begun to overlook. The selling pressure and price decline worsened each other, as investors redeeming their shares forced companies like BlackRock to sell their own bitcoin holdings to meet those requests.

The significant purchase of IBIT shares happened just after another notable event involving the fund. Earlier on Tuesday, one investor sold $1.29 billion worth of IBIT shares in a single, private transaction, as reported by CoinDesk.

A dark pool trade is a private deal that allows big investors to buy or sell large amounts of stock without revealing their intentions to the public market.

The large block sale shouldn’t be confused with investors actually selling off their Bitcoin, because new buyers can often step in to offset the sales. IBIT experienced $192.44 million in actual net redemptions on Tuesday. However, both the sale and the redemptions suggest that institutional investors are reducing their Bitcoin holdings due to recent economic conditions.

For weeks, data has indicated a shift in Bitcoin’s trend. While ETFs accumulated around 4,500 BTC throughout the year, May saw a change from the consistent buying seen in March and April, with investors now selling. As a result, Bitcoin’s price has fallen from over $82,000 on May 6th to below $73,000, and the ETF investments that previously fueled the price increase are now seeing money flow out.

It’s unclear if the recent decrease in investments is a short-term reaction to tensions in the Middle East, or a sign of larger investors withdrawing funds. The answer will become clearer once the situation in the Middle East calms down. The IBIT fund has experienced similar periods of outflows in the past, but money always returned when economic conditions improved.

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2026-05-28 09:10