BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) logged its second-largest single-day net outflow since launch on Wednesday, narrowly missing its January record, as geopolitical tensions tied to Iran triggered a broader institutional pullback from bitcoin.
The fund saw $527.84 million in net redemptions, according to SoSoValue data, falling just short of its all-time high outflow of $528.3 million recorded on Jan. 30 — a difference of less than $500,000. Despite the drawdown, IBIT remains the dominant institutional vehicle for bitcoin exposure, managing roughly $59 billion in assets and representing close to 4% of the cryptocurrency’s total supply.
The outflows were part of a wider trend across U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs. Collectively, the 11 funds recorded $733.43 million in net outflows on Wednesday. Fidelity’s FBTC lost $60.30 million, while Grayscale’s GBTC saw $104.76 million exit, adding to IBIT’s substantial decline. The sector has now posted consecutive days of redemptions, with more than $2 billion withdrawn over the past two weeks.
The selling pressure coincided with a sharp drop in bitcoin’s price, which fell below $73,000 the same day. The asset traded at $72,978 during Asian hours on Thursday, marking a 3.4% decline over 24 hours. The move followed renewed geopolitical concerns after U.S. airstrikes targeted an Iranian military site near the Strait of Hormuz, reigniting tensions that markets had previously begun to discount.
ETF outflows and price weakness appeared to reinforce each other, as redemptions forced issuers like BlackRock to liquidate underlying bitcoin holdings to meet investor exits.
Wednesday’s outflow came shortly after a significant transaction in IBIT on Tuesday, when a single investor offloaded $1.29 billion worth of shares via a dark-pool block trade. Such trades allow large participants to move substantial positions privately without immediately impacting public market prices.
While the block trade itself did not directly translate into net outflows — as counterparties can absorb the shares — IBIT still recorded $192.44 million in net redemptions that day. Taken together, the transactions suggest institutional investors have been reducing bitcoin exposure amid a shifting macro backdrop.
Flow data has been signaling this shift for several weeks. Net ETF accumulation has slowed to approximately 4,500 BTC for the year, while May marked a transition from the steady inflows seen in March and April to consistent distribution. Over the same period, bitcoin has declined from above $82,000 on May 6 to below $73,000, with the ETF channel that previously fueled the rally now acting as a source of selling pressure.
Whether the recent outflows represent short-term risk reduction driven by geopolitical uncertainty or a more sustained institutional retreat will likely depend on how conditions evolve in the Middle East. Previous cycles have shown that IBIT can experience extended periods of outflows without signaling a lasting reversal, with inflows typically resuming once macro conditions stabilize.
