Massive $332.6M Withdrawal Hits BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust

Investors pulled out a whopping $332.6 million from BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) on Thursday, marking the most significant single-day net outflow ever experienced by the bitcoin ETF, as reported by Farside Investors. This ETF is the largest amongst all bitcoin ETFs, boasting net assets of approximately $54 billion. Notwithstanding this, in the previous year, 2024, IBIT showcased an impressive performance, amassing inflows exceeding $37 billion which contributed to bitcoin surging to a never-seen-before high of over $108,000 in December. Thursday's exodus was the third consecutive day IBIT witnessed outflows, with the total nearing $393 million for the week. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas commented on the shift in activity, suggesting it was not a sign of bearish behavior and could simply be a reluctance to progress forward. While the first trading day of 2025 witnessed minor inflows for other bitcoin ETFs, they did not come close to compensating for IBIT's outflows. Competitors Bitwise’s BITB and Fidelity’s FBTC reported inflows of $48 million and $36 million respectively, while Ethereum ETFs recorded aggregate outflows of $77.5 million. As it stands, Bitcoin's value hovers around $98,000. However, some analysts predict that the digital currency could shatter previous records and reach an all-time high of $180,000 or more in 2025. This projected spike is anticipated to be primarily driven by more nation states adopting cryptocurrency throughout the year.