BlackRock’s IBIT leads Bitcoin ETF outflows amid U.S. investor sell-off

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has led spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other United States-based institutional investors into renewed selling pressure as of April 29.

After 13 days of consecutive inflows, which attracted more than $2 billion, BlackRock’s IBIT reported a net cash outflow of $112.25 million on April 28. As such, IBIT held more than 812,276 BTC, valued at approximately $62 billion at press time.

Similarly, spot BTC ETFs ended their nine-day streak of consecutive cash inflows. After registering net cash inflows of over $2.11 billion between April 14 and 24, these funds reported a net cash outflow of roughly $352.86 million on April 27 and 28, according to data from SoSoValue. As a result, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs had a total net assets of $100.39 billion at the time of publication.

Meanwhile, the Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index, a tool that measures the percentage price difference between BTC price on Coinbase versus a Binance, has turned negative, as per metrics from CoinGlass. Essentially, a negative Coinbase Bitcoin Premium shows that US institutions are distributing and vice versa.

Bitcoin price signals trend shift amid low spot demand

The recent decline in institutional demand for Bitcoin in the United States has coincided with low spot volume across all crypto exchanges. As of reporting time, the BTC’s spot volume has capitulated to the lowest levels since October 2023, based on updates from Glassnode.

Consequently, BTC’s price is now at risk of a trend reversal after attempting a bull rally in the first three weeks of April. The ‘sell in May and go away’ could be shaping up as Finbold explained.