BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Marks First Loss Since May—Cause for Concern?

BlackRock's spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has experienced more than $13 million in net outflows, marking the first time since May the investment vehicle has lost more funds than it has gained.

The Ishares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), which is the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by total assets, saw net outflows of roughly $13.5 million on Thursday, according to data from investment management firm Farside Investors. This is the second time Blackrock’s Bitcoin fund has ever recorded negative outflows since its launch in January. 

IBIT’s losses came as investors collectively withdrew roughly $71,800 from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs on Thursday—the third consecutive day of negative outflows for the funds, according to Farside data. 

Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF lost roughly $22.7 million on Thursday, while Fidelity’s fund logged $31.1 million in outflows, Farside data shows. Meanwhile, Bitwise’s BITB lost roughly $8.1 million, according to the same data.

Although that trend may be alarming to some Bitcoin holders, investors need not panic just yet, one analyst told Decrypt. 

“There isn't too much concern here,” Glassnode analyst Brett Singer said Friday. “They've still had very consistent growth and the amount pulled out seems negligible.”

The days-long trend in investor withdrawals from spot Bitcoin ETFs comes as Bitcoin’s price dipped below a vital support threshold of $58,000 this week. 

Bitcoin was trading at $59,200 as of the time of writing, CoinGecko data shows.  

Bitcoin’s price has slid roughly 11% over the past month, despite its recovery from a flash crash in early August that saw the token’s value dip below $50,000. Meanwhile, BTC is down nearly 20% from its all-time high of $73,737 in March, according to CoinGecko.