BlackRock Bitcoin fund sheds $420M as ETF losing streak hits day 7

Investors in BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust pulled out a record $420 million from the fund in a day as Bitcoin sunk to yearly lows.

BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF (IBIT) shed 5,000 BTC on Feb. 26, its largest outflow to date, eclipsing the $332 million it lost on Jan. 2. 

The massive outflow follows a record day of bleeding from the products on Feb. 24, when more than $1.1 billion exited on aggregate. It also culminates in a seven trading day outflow streak that has seen almost $3 billion exiting the products. 

The BlackRock outflow brings the day’s total outflow to $756 million, according to preliminary figures from CoinGlass. However, ETF Store President Nate Geraci said he thinks it is a “shorter-term blip.”

The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) also saw a seven-day outflow streak, with a further $145.7 million exiting the product on Feb. 26.

Bitwise, Ark 21Shares, Invesco, Franklin, WisdomTree and Grayscale all saw outflows ranging between $10 million and $60 million.

Crypto markets have extended losses, with total capitalization falling a further 5.6% on the day to $2.9 trillion and Bitcoin dumping to a low of $82,455 on Feb. 26. 

The market correction now stands at 25%, with $1 trillion exiting the space since its all-time high on Dec. 17.

However, CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju said it would be a “noob” mistake to “panic sell,” and a 30% correction in a Bitcoin bull cycle is common as “it dropped 53% in 2021 and still recovered to an ATH,” he said. 

“Buying when prices rise and selling when they fall is the worst investment strategy,” he said on X. 

Related: US spot Bitcoin ETFs see largest-ever daily outflow of $938M

Analysts and industry experts such as BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes and 10x Research head of research Markus Thielen said that the majority of Bitcoin ETF investors are hedge funds seeking arbitrage yields, not long-term BTC investors, and they are now unwinding their positions as these yield opportunities dry up.

Hayes predicted on Feb. 24 that BTC would dump to $70,000 on the continued outflow from spot ETFs. Traders have also targeted the $74,000 zone as US President Donald Trump threatened more trade tariffs. 

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