This week, BlackRock, the world’s leading asset management firm, has been actively selling off its Bitcoin holdings, contributing to a broader downturn in the cryptocurrency market. These sales stem from investors withdrawing funds from its Bitcoin ETF (Exchange Traded Fund).
BlackRock Reportedly Sells Half a Billion Dollars Worth of Bitcoin
According to Arkham data, BlackRock has liquidated approximately $500 million in Bitcoin during the week. These Bitcoins were transferred to Coinbase, a crypto exchange, suggesting an intent to sell. The sales follow a period of outflows from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF, a trend observed throughout the week.
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Data from SoSo Value indicates the iShares Bitcoin ETF by BlackRock experienced its first net outflow on August 18th, with $68.72 million leaving the fund. Subsequently, larger outflows occurred on August 20th, 21st, and 22nd, totaling $220 million, $127.49 million, and $198.81 million respectively. Notably, the iShares Bitcoin ETF has seen the most significant withdrawals of all Bitcoin ETFs, which are collectively experiencing a six-day streak of net outflows.
The combined net outflows from these Bitcoin ETFs have reached nearly $1.2 billion since August 15th. More than $1.1 billion has exited the funds in just the past week, contributing to a more pessimistic outlook on Bitcoin’s price. BlackRock’s significant role in the Bitcoin space means that withdrawals from its fund have triggered further selling. This contributed to a substantial price decrease for the leading cryptocurrency earlier this week.
Bitcoin’s price briefly dipped to around $112,000 this week as BlackRock and other Bitcoin investors opted to capitalize on their gains. This followed Bitcoin’s rise to a new peak value of $124,000 just the week before. However, Bitcoin has since seen a sharp recovery following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole, where he suggested a potential interest rate cut in September.
Potential End to Bitcoin ETF Outflows?
Powell’s remarks seemed to be enough to inspire renewed investment into Bitcoin ETFs on August 22nd, although BlackRock remained the only fund manager to register net outflows that day. Additional information provided by SoSo Value reveals that Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest saw the largest daily inflow among issuers, totaling $65.47 million.
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Fidelity, Van Eck, Franklin Templeton, Bitwise, and Grayscale also posted inflows of $50.88 million, $26.41 million, $13.51 million, $12.70 million, and $6.42 million, respectively. Still, BlackRock’s outflow of $198.81 million meant that the funds collectively saw a net outflow of $23.15 million for the day. As Bitcoin’s price stabilizes, these funds, including BlackRock’s IBIT, could see increased daily inflows starting next week.
As of this writing, the price of Bitcoin is approximately $115,900, showing an increase of over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com