Trading volume on BlackRock's (BLK) leading spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) has reached its highest level since the U.S. presidential election was held last November.
The heavy trading volume in the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) comes as cryptocurrency markets remain extremely volatile, with prices falling sharply.
In the past week, the price of BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF has declined 11%. The iShares Bitcoin Trust is the largest and most popular of about a dozen spot BTC ETFs in the U.S.
In fact, the iShares Bitcoin Trust claims to be the largest ETF in the world with $39.60 billion U.S. of assets under management. The ETF has only been around for one year.
Over 331 million shares of the BlackRock ETF changed hands as the fund's price fell below the key support level of $50.69 U.S., eventually dropping to $46.07 U.S., its lowest price since last autumn.
While Bitcoin’s price has rebounded from a low of about $78,000 U.S. to $90,000 U.S., overall sentiment remains bearish towards crypto and trading remains volatile, say analysts.
Consequently, market data shows that investors pulled more than $1 billion U.S. from BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF over the past week as the cryptocurrency’s price slid lower.
Trading volume in the IBIT ETF has steadily risen as investors increasingly flee risk assets, say analysts and market technicians.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust is down 10% on the year and currently trading at $49.39 U.S. per unit.
