BlackRock's IBIT Bitcoin ETF fund is fast losing its investors

BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF fund IBIT is fast losing its investors as many of them continue to pull out funds as a result of the present market volatility.

Key corporate investor BlackRock’s IBIT fund is rapidly losing investors as they pull out funds amid market volatility.

SoSoValue data recorded over $418.1 million in net outflows from IBIT on Wednesday. This marks a new record for the biggest single-day withdrawal from the fund since its launch in January 2024.

Bitcoin ETFs Face Extended Losing Streak

The timing of these outflows is no coincidence. This is because Bitcoin has now been on a persistent decline for the past week. In fact, the token dipped to over 15% this month and is presently trading 21% below its all-time high of $109,026.02.

Meanwhile, the last record for IBIT’s daily withdrawal was $332.6 million. This happened in early January, shortly before Bitcoin saw an extended increase that took it to its peak.

On the bright side, the current net outflows have not affected IBIT’s standing in the American market. This is because it remains the largest of all United States spot Bitcoin ETFs, with a total of $40.2 billion in net inflows and assets under management standing at $51.6 billion.

The fund is also leading in trading volume, accounting for 72% of all Bitcoin ETF activities this week. Out of the total $5.7 billion traded in these funds, IBIT alone handled $4.1 billion. If anything, this should garner positive sentiments in the market as regards the potential of the token.

Sadly, IBIT is not the only fund currently seeing this decline. In fact, the entire spot Bitcoin ETF market in the United States has seen several investors pulling out their investments at a very discouraging rate.

For example, on February 26 alone, a total of $754.6 million left these funds, making it the second-largest single-day outflow in their history. Over the past week, the total outflows reached nearly $3 billion.

Key corporate investor Fidelity’s FBTC saw the second-largest outflow on Wednesday, losing $145.7 million. Similarly, ARK Invest’s ARKB followed with $60.5 million exiting the fund, while Grayscale’s Mini BTC fund also recorded a withdrawal of $56 million.

Meanwhile, the impact is also being felt across Ethereum exchange-traded funds. BlackRock’s ETHA product saw $69.8 million in withdrawals on Wednesday, leading a five-day outflow streak that now totals $244.4 million for all spot Ethereum funds combined.

Investors Brace for Further Losses

Unfortunately, the increasing withdrawals come at a time of disparaging volatile economy. This has left analysts believing that growing concerns over President Trump’s tariff plans have added more pressure to an already shaky market. Maybe this is the reason why institutional investors are taking a more careful and deliberate approach to investing.

Notably, this present decline is not limited to only Bitcoin. Several other altcoins are also caught up in this crypto market instability. According to The Block’s GMCI 30 index, which tracks the top 30 digital assets, there has been a 12% drop already this week.

At the time of writing, there is little to suggest an immediate rebound. Even some market watchers are saying that Bitcoin is likely to continue facing selling pressure before stabilizing.