BlackRock Bitcoin ETF, Fund Inflows Stopped…Has Institutional Buying Ended?

▲ BlackRock Bitcoin/ChatGPT generated image ©

The 9-day streak of fund inflows into BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF has been broken, suggesting that institutional buying has entered a temporary pause.

According to investment media TradingNews on April 28 (local time), the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) closed at $43.27, down 0.67% from the previous session. As Bitcoin (BTC) fell to $76,362, the US spot Bitcoin ETF market ended its 9-day streak of $2.1 billion in net inflows and shifted to $263.18 million in net outflows.

Fund outflows were most prominent from Fidelity's FBTC. FBTC saw an outflow of $150.4 million, Grayscale's GBTC recorded a net outflow of $46.63 million, and ARK 21Shares' ARKB experienced a net outflow of $43.3 million. In contrast, BlackRock's IBIT showed a flat trend with no inflows or outflows, maintaining its assets under management (AUM) at $63.14 billion.

The media interpreted these outflows as short-term profit-taking and position adjustments rather than a structural exit by institutions. The total trading volume for spot Bitcoin ETFs remained active at $1.93 billion, and the fact that IBIT remained stable was seen as a sign of the long-term allocation nature of BlackRock's client base. Year-to-date, IBIT has seen cumulative inflows of $3.3 billion.

Bitcoin's weakness was also coupled with leverage liquidations. Bitcoin fell below $77,000, and approximately $43 million in long position liquidations increased selling pressure. However, the media viewed this as a typical liquidity event rather than a collapse in spot supply and demand. On the downside, $73,000-$75,000 was presented as a key support level, while on the upside, a recovery to $80,000 was suggested as a crucial condition for ETF fund re-inflows.

From a supply and demand perspective, analysis also suggested that the institutional buying logic remains intact. Strategy bought 56,235 BTC in April alone, and global ETFs added 34,552 BTC during the same period. This significantly exceeded April's mining supply of 11,829 BTC, indicating that institutional demand surpassed new supply by approximately 7.7 times.

TradingNews anticipated that IBIT would likely move within the $42-$44 range in the short term. $42 was presented as a buying zone, a break below $40 as a bearish signal, and a breakthrough of $46 was analyzed to open up the possibility of a recovery to $50-$55. However, with the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), Hormuz risks, and a strong dollar remaining short-term variables, the media maintained a cautious short-term view but a buy-on-dip perspective for the medium to long term.

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