BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Investors Hold the Line as Markets Rebound

As Bitcoin briefly plunged below $50,000 Monday, investors in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF were among some of the most steadfast investors in the crypto market.

Despite Bitcoin’s price falling 10% in the past week, investors in BlackRock’s $19 billion product haven’t flinched, so far. While some spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen millions of dollars in outflows over the past few days, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has held the line.

After IBIT flows were flat Monday and Tuesday, the fund saw inflows of $52.5 million to the fund Wednesday, followed by the WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund at $10.5 million, per data from Farside Investors. Meanwhile, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (BGTC) has bled around $132 million in funds since the week began.

One of Warren Buffet’s most popular sayings is to “be greedy when others are fearful.” And it appears Wall Street investors have lived up to the Chair and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway’s advice, despite spot Bitcoin ETFs notching net outflows of around $271 million since Monday.

Across all spot Bitcoin ETFs, a two-day stretch of outflows amounted to just 0.5% of their total assets under management (AUM), Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas wrote on Twitter (aka X). He said an overwhelming amount of ETF funds “hung tough in the face” of Bitcoin’s 14% decline Monday, outperforming Balchunas’ expectations.

“I'm bullish as it gets re ETF investors' intestinal fortitude,” he wrote. “But even I'm surprised here. I was expecting 2-3% of the AUM to leave and declare that as 'strong.'”

Just before Monday’s dip, Morgan Stanley, a Wall Street behemoth, unleashed 15,000 financial advisors on the Bitcoin market, flashing a green light for advisors to pitch shares in IBIT and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust (FBTC) to clients.

Still, FBTC is among four spot Bitcoin ETFs that have notched daily outflows this week, including the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, the Franklin Bitcoin ETF, and the aforementioned GBTC. ETFs from seven other issuers remain in the clear.

As Bitcoin topped $57,500 Wednesday, spot Bitcoin ETFs raked in $45 million. The day would’ve been positive across the board, except for GBTC’s $20 million in outflows.

“We had net inflows into both our Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs today,” Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “ETF investors buying the dip.”