BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF falls with Bitcoin, testing investor behavior amid its first sustained drawdown as a public fund.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) has declined roughly 28% year to date and 40% over the past year, mirroring Bitcoin’s drop from $102,000 to around $64,000. The fund closed near $36 on June 18, marking its first extended bear market since launch.
IBIT’s assets under management peaked at $62.7 billion in late April, with holdings exceeding 800,000 BTC. Recent outflows reflect traders shifting to Ethereum-based ETFs like ETHA, while a $1.3 billion dark-pool sale in May highlighted institutional exit risks. The fund’s options market now surpasses Deribit’s, with open interest above 7 million contracts.
The drawdown tests IBIT’s role as a liquid, large-cap proxy for Bitcoin exposure, with minimal tracking error and no derivatives overlay to soften losses.