The BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) experienced a significant outflow of $527.84 million on Wednesday. This event marks the second-largest single-day net outflow for the trust since its launch in January 2024, with the largest being $528.3 million on January 30. Such substantial outflows highlight notable shifts in the bitcoin ETF market.
The BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) holds approximately $59 billion in assets, making it a significant player in the institutional bitcoin market by accounting for nearly 4% of the total bitcoin supply. This positions IBIT as the largest single vehicle for such exposure.
Meanwhile, the broader U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETF market suffered notable losses, with cumulative outflows totaling $733.43 million on Wednesday. This included $60.30 million from Fidelity’s FBTC and $104.76 million from Grayscale’s GBTC. Over the past two weeks, the ETF complex has seen continuous outflows surpassing $2 billion, indicating a persistent trend of divestment in recent sessions.
On Tuesday, trading records show a dark-pool trade of $1.29 billion in IBIT shares. On the same day, IBIT’s net redemptions amounted to $192.44 million. “A dark-pool trade is a privately negotiated transaction that lets large players move size without tipping off the broader market.” Both the large dark-pool execution and the reported redemptions were recorded for Tuesday and noted in trading summaries.
ETF accumulation for the year had thinned to a net of around 4,500 BTC, and May flipped from steady buying to distribution. The ETF channel that drove the 2025 rally has spent the month pulling money the other way. Outflows were described as potentially reflecting tactical de-risking amid Hormuz headlines or a deeper institutional pullback, with uncertainty depending on Middle East stabilization. Reporting placed these observations in the context of recent ETF complex outflows.
Bitcoin traded at $72,978 in Asian hours on Thursday, down 3.4% over 24 hours after U.S. airstrikes on an Iranian military site near the Strait of Hormuz. That movement coincided with reported continued withdrawals from the U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETF complex and was noted alongside recent large trades and redemptions in IBIT and other funds in market reports during the same period.
