BlackRock’s Spot Bitcoin ETF Sees First Day of Outflows in Nearly 4 Months

The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), issued by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, just recorded its first day of outflow in almost four months.

Data from Farside Investors shows that IBIT investors withdrew $13.5 million from the fund on Thursday, August 29. The last time the BlackRock spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) recorded a negative flow was on May 1, and the outflow amounted to $36.9 million. Since then, the fund has either witnessed inflows or zero flows.

IBIT Sees First Daily Outflow Since May

BlackRock’s IBIT has been the leading Bitcoin ETF since May when it surpassed the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) after 96 trading days following its launch. At the time, IBIT became the largest spot Bitcoin ETF, with assets under management (AUM) hovering above $19.7 billion and 288,671 bitcoin (BTC) in its holdings.

Currently, IBIT holds 357,740 BTC, and its AUM is $17.24 billion, primarily because BTC is worth 13% less than it was at the time.

By the end of May, BTC was worth around $68,000; however, according to CoinMarketCap data at the time of writing, the leading cryptocurrency was changing hands at $59,200, down slightly in the past 24 hours.

ETFs on 3-Day Outflow Streak

The outflow from IBIT and plunge in bitcoin’s value comes as the United States spot Bitcoin ETF market witnesses a three-day outflow streak. The investment products recorded $127.1 million in outflows on August 27, $105.3 million in negative flows on August 28, and investors withdrew another $71.8 million on August 29.

The outflows have been so heavy that only Ark Invest’s ARKB has seen inflows in the past three days, and that was on August 29, a figure totaling $5.3 million. Other funds, including Fidelity’s FBTC, Bitwise’s BITB, and Invesco Galaxy’s BTCO, have either recorded outflows or no action.

Grayscale’s GBTC continued its outflow streak, with investors withdrawing $22.7 million. The fund has seen negative flows totaling $49 million in the past three days.

Despite the negative flows over the past few days, the total net assets of the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market account for 4.62% of bitcoin’s market cap, per data from SosoValue. The funds have seen a cumulative net inflow of $17.78 billion since launch and have a total AuM of $50 billion.