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

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

Farside Investors data shows that on Jan. 2 IBIT saw $333 million worth of outflows—the highest ever reported for the Bitcoin ETF. Founder of Obchakevich Research Alex Obchakevich told Decrypt 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 sale of some shares,” he explained.

U.S.-based BTC spot ETFs overall lost $248 million on Jan. 2. IBIT was the top loser, followed by the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) with its $23 million in withdrawals—the only other product to report a negative capital net flow.

Isaac Joshua—the CEO of token launch platform Gems—also told Decrypt yesterday that the recent downturn “can largely be attributed to end-of-year tax-loss harvesting by investors,” he explained. According to him, “many have liquidated both Bitcoin ETFs and the underlying asset itself to optimize their tax reports, a common phenomenon in 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’s adoption by simplifying access for institutional investors, enhancing its legitimacy and facilitating mainstream acceptance.”

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

As of press time, CoinMarketCap data indicates that Bitcoin is trading at just under $96,700 after gaining 0.11% over the last 24 hours and 0.35% over the last seven days. The current price is nearly 10.7% lower than the all-time high of nearly $108,300 reported on Dec. 17.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.