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Clients of financial giant BlackRock have begun reallocating their crypto assets, with investors pulling $202.48 million, or about 3,130 BTC, from the flagship iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in a single trading day, according to SoSoValue.
The move ended the fund's recent inflow streak and forced the issuer to sell cryptocurrency to cover redemptions, while total net outflows across the entire spot Bitcoin ETF market reached $225.18 million.
However, the withdrawals do not look like an exit from the industry. Instead, institutional capital began flowing into spot Ethereum ETFs, which recorded net inflows of $26.32 million. One of the main beneficiaries of this shift was BlackRock itself, whose ETH fund attracted an additional $11.39 million.
The real news is not the outflow itself, but how the market reacted to it. Despite BlackRock clients withdrawing hundreds of millions of dollars, the Bitcoin price declined by only 1% and remained firmly above $65,400.
On the same day, the U.S. stock market suffered a severe technology-sector sell-off that erased $800 billion from the market capitalization of major IT companies. The fact that Bitcoin ignored the panic in equities and held above $65,400 points to its growing independence from the traditional market.
Where did the money go?
As investors shifted toward Ethereum, fund flows were distributed as follows:
- BTC sell-off: In addition to BlackRock, Bitwise's BITB closed the day with $7.03 million in outflows, Fidelity's FBTC lost $5.64 million, and ARK 21Shares' ARKB recorded $4.30 million in withdrawals. The only fund to move against the trend was Morgan Stanley's MSBT, which attracted a modest $5.01 million.
- Bet on Ethereum: Investors added capital to ETH funds, with Fidelity leading the inflows at $14.93 million, followed by BlackRock with $11.39 million. This supports the view that large investors are carrying out a controlled rotation of capital within their portfolios.
What comes next: two views on $65,400
The current period of calm has divided the analyst community into two camps. Optimists describe the price stability as a "reaccumulation zone" ahead of another move higher, noting that Bitcoin remains far above the critical average institutional purchase price of $53,000.
Skeptics, however, warn that if outflows from Bitcoin ETFs continue, buyers may simply lack the strength to maintain support, potentially opening the way for a deeper decline.
Despite this local portfolio adjustment by clients, BlackRock's position remains rock-solid. IBIT continues to manage more than $60 billion, while total inflows into all spot Bitcoin ETFs since their launch have exceeded $51.63 billion.
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team
