BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) experienced a significant outflow of funds on January 2nd. Data from Farside Investors shows that IBIT saw outflows worth $333 million on that day, the highest ever reported for a Bitcoin ETF. Alex Obchakevich, the founder of Obchakevich Research, explained that the main reason for the outflow was investors taking profits at the beginning of 2025. He further elaborated that investors and funds often review their investment portfolios at the end of the year, which can result in the sale of some shares.
On January 2nd, BTC spot ETFs based in the United States collectively lost $248 million. IBIT was the biggest loser, followed by the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which experienced $23 million in withdrawals. Isaac Joshua, the CEO of token launch platform Gems, also mentioned that the recent downturn can be attributed to investors engaging in tax-loss harvesting at the end of the year. He explained that many investors have liquidated both Bitcoin ETFs and the underlying asset itself to optimize their tax reports, a common practice in financial markets during this period.
Despite these outflows, investors remain optimistic about BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF. Ryan Lee, the chief analyst at Bitget’s research subsidiary, recently highlighted that the ETF is expected to accelerate Bitcoin’s adoption by simplifying access for institutional investors, enhancing its legitimacy, and promoting mainstream acceptance. IBIT reached over $50 billion in assets under management just 228 days after its launch, which is more than five times faster than any other ETF in history. Joshua stated that by bridging traditional finance with cryptocurrency, the ETF is anticipated to stabilize Bitcoin’s market perception and potentially reduce price volatility.
According to CoinMarketCap data at the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at just under $96,700, with a 0.11% increase over the past 24 hours and a 0.35% increase over the past seven days. The current price is nearly 10.7% lower than the all-time high of nearly $108,300 reported on December 17th.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
