BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Sees Record High Outflows Thanks to Profit-Taking

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) just saw record-high outflows on January 2.

Data from Farside Investors shows that IBIT saw outflows worth $333 million on January 2 – the highest ever reported for the sector. Bitcoin ETF. Founder of Obchakevich Research told Alex Obchakevich Declutter that “the main reason for the outflow is profit-taking by investors in early 2025.”

“At the end of the year, investors and funds often review their investment portfolios, which can lead to the selling of some stocks,” he explains.

US-based BTC spot ETFs lost a total of $248 million on January 2. IBIT was the biggest loser, followed by the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) with its $23 million in withdrawals – the only other product to report negative net capital flows.

Isaac Joshua – the CEO of token launch platform Gems – also mentioned it Declutter Yesterday he said the recent recession “can be largely attributed to year-end tax loss harvesting,” he explained. According to him, “many have liquidated both Bitcoin ETFs and the underlying assets themselves to optimize their tax reports, a common phenomenon in the financial markets during this period.”

Still, investors remain optimistic about BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF. Ryan Lee – chief analyst at the research subsidiary of crypto exchange Bitget – recently highlighted in a note that “BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF is poised to accelerate Bitcoin adoption by simplifying access for institutional investors, increasing its legitimacy and increasing mainstream adoption to facilitate.”

IBIT surpassed $50 billion in assets under management just 228 days after launch – more than five times faster than any other ETF in history. “By bridging traditional financing with cryptocurrency, the ETF is expected to stabilize the market perception of BTC and potentially reduce price volatility,” Joshua said.

At the time of writing, CoinMarketCap data indicates that Bitcoin is trading at just under $96,700, after rising 0.11% in the past 24 hours and 0.35% in the past seven days. The current price is almost 10.7% lower than the all-time high of almost $108,300 reported on December 17.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.