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BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Posts Record Outflow After Banner Year

Greg Newman, senior wealth advisor and portfolio manager of Newman Group at ScotiaMcLeod and Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at Purpose Investment, discus

(Bloomberg) -- Investors yanked a net $333 million from BlackRock Inc.’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) on Thursday, the most withdrawn from the record-breaking fund since its launch.

The fund also suffered a third consecutive day of outflows, its longest losing streak, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

As the largest spot Bitcoin fund with over $53 billion in assets and nearly $37 billion in inflows, IBIT proved a major hit with institutional investors after a January launch and helped push the largest digital asset to an all-time high of $108,315 in mid-December.

The tapering of flows to IBIT is another sign of Bitcoin’s record-breaking run in 2024 taking a breather. The group of a dozen Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the US have posted a net outflow of about $2 billion since Dec. 19, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

Open interest — or outstanding contracts — for Bitcoin futures hosted by Chicago-based CME Group Inc., seen as a measure of US institutional demand, also fell nearly 20% from its December peak.

“The outflows and decreased open interest is expected with institutions paring back risk and window dressing for year-end balance sheet adjustments,” said Paul Howard, senior director at crypto market maker Wincent.

BlackRock didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg News. 

Bitcoin was trading at $96,465 at 6:03 a.m. on Friday in New York, about 11% below its record high. 

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