Trading volume in BlackRock’s (BLK) leading spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) has reached its highest level since the U.S. presidential election last November.
The heavy trading volume in the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) comes as cryptocurrency markets remain volatile. In the past week, the price of BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF has declined alongside the price of BTC. The iShares Bitcoin Trust is the largest and most popular of about a dozen spot BTC ETFs in America.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust claims to be the largest ETF in the world with $39.60 billion of assets under management. Over 331 million shares of the IBIT ETF changed hands as the fund’s price fell below the key support level of $50.69, eventually dropping to $46.07, its lowest price since last November.
Bearish Sentiment
While Bitcoin’s price has rebounded from a low of about $78,000 to near $90,000, overall sentiment remains bearish towards cryptocurrencies and trading remains volatile, say analysts. Market data shows that investors pulled more than $1 billion out of BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF over the last 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. Worries about trade tariffs, a slumping U.S. economy, and geopolitical instability in Ukraine have investors moving to the sidelines. The iShares Bitcoin Trust is down 7% on the year.
Is BTC a Buy?
Most Wall Street firms don’t offer ratings or price targets on Bitcoin, so we’ll look at the cryptocurrency’s three-month performance instead. As one can see in the chart below, the price of BTC has declined 12.13% in the last 12 weeks.
