U.Today – The start of 2025 brought an unexpected turnaround for BlackRock (NYSE: ) iShares Trust (IBIT) as investors pulled out a whopping $332.6 million in just one day, the equivalent of 3,413 BTC. This is the largest withdrawal from the ETF since it was launched, surpassing the record $188.7 million that occurred in the last decade of December.
Top ETF analyst Eric Balchunas of Bloomberg reacted to the historic anti-record with a more “glass half full” approach, arguing that these pullbacks were expected and long overdue.
He also said that Bitcoin ETFs probably won’t continue to grow as quickly, and while the amount of money left may have surprised some, it’s just a sign that things are changing. It’s like taking a breather on a journey where you’ve been consistently moving forward, from an expert’s point of view.
The timing of these outflows is consistent with the unfolding story of Bitcoin price dynamics. There is a chart pattern that looks like a “head and shoulders” shape, and if it breaks below the $92,000 neckline, it could drop the price as low as $70,000 per BTC.
The details still tell a different story as IBIT 2024 ended on a high, pulling in over $37 billion in inflows for the year. Its equivalent, ETHA, also attracted a lot of attention, earning $3.53 billion.
Those ETFs have helped solidify BlackRock’s place as a major player in institutional crypto investing, with Bitcoin holdings worth about $53 billion and Ethereum holdings of nearly $3.7 billion. But even the best of these funds can be affected by market cycles.
