BlackRock's Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF Price Declined by Over 11% Last Week

Last week, prices for BlackRock's spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) declined over 11%, with volumes reaching the highest since mid-November, according to data source TradingView.

Last week saw a steeper than usual price decline for BlackRock's (NYSE:BLK) spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF), with volumes reaching the highest since mid-November, according to the latest readings from data source TradingView.

More than 331 million shares of the ETF, which trades under the IBIT ticker on Nasdaq, were exchanged as the fund's price slid below the January support at $50.69, eventually reaching $46.07, the lowest since early November.

This might be a disappointing development for the bulls. For decades, one of the cardinal rules in the market has been that price movements must be validated by trading volume. This means that a bearish price action is usually expected to have more legs when it’s accompanied by a notable increase in the number of shares or contracts sold on the exchange.

After yesterday's close, data from Farside Investors showed that investors pulled out more than $1 billion from the IBIT ETF as the price slide and the dwindling CME futures basis, presenting the return on carry trades, generated panic selling.

The IBIT was among the 11 most sold U.S.-listed ETFs last week, with traders also pulling money out of the iShares Semiconductor - VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NYSE:SMH), the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (NYSE:VNRE), and the Invesco Dividend Income ETF (NYSE:DIV).

Despite the outflows and the technical indicators, IBIT remains the largest ETF in the world, with $39.6 billion in assets under management.

IBIT's trading volume picked up on Tuesday, January 17, as the ETF broke below the horizontal support at $50.69 to signal more losses ahead.

The technical outlook remains bearish while prices are expected to remain below the former support-turned-resistance at $50.69, which could invite more sellers.