BlackRock Bitcoin ETF trades over $1 billion in the first 20 minutes

BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) recorded over $1 billion in trading volume within the first 20 minutes of market opening on November 6, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

Damn, $IBIT has seen $1b in volume in the first 20min- that’s about what it does in full day. Other bitcoin ETFs in same boat, crazy volume. Set for a record-breaking volume day (and given price is up so much, this is likely feeding frenzy volume vs crisis volume = look for… pic.twitter.com/1gSvV5Lwzo

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) November 6, 2024

At the time of writing, over $2.5 billion worth of IBIT shares traded hands, Coinglass data shows. Meanwhile, Fidelity’s FBTC saw around $464 million in volume, followed by Grayscale’s GBTC, per Coinglass.

Trading volume, which represents both buying and selling activity, doesn’t directly translate to net inflows. For instance, of the $4.5 billion in first-day volume for Bitcoin ETFs, only about $600 million constituted actual inflows.

Balchunas suggested that IBIT could end today with huge inflows. Historically, large volume spikes during a rally have often preceded significant inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, the analyst said.

Remember the last time we saw volume spike during a rally? That was a precursor to the recent flow-athon, $IBIT alone took in $1.8b over next few days. Not saying it’s guarantee but i’m fan of patterns and it fits pattern. https://t.co/YbkshZ5lOw

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) November 6, 2024

His projection was based on similar patterns observed on October 30, when IBIT’s trading volume surpassed $3.3 billion, which later converted into $643 million in net buying, Crypto Briefing reported. That marked the fund’s heaviest inflow since March 12 when Bitcoin neared $73,000.

According to data tracked by Farside Investors, IBIT shed over $44 million yesterday. US spot Bitcoin ETFs also ended the day with approximately $117 million in net outflows, extending its losing streak to three consecutive days.

The recent spike in IBIT trading comes amid Bitcoin’s price rally to around $74,400, up over 6% in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin recently established a new record high of $75,358 on CoinGecko. The milestone was achieved against the backdrop of the 2024 US elections, with projections indicating that Donald Trump was set to secure a second term in office.

Trump’s victory was later confirmed as major media outlets, including FOX News, the Associated Press, and NBC, officially declared him the winner of the 2024 election.

This article first appeared at Crypto Briefing