BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) witnessed a substantial $231.6 million inflow on Thursday, following a significant price drop that marked its "second-worst" day since launch. This influx of capital occurred despite a 13% price decline in IBIT shares, mirroring a broader downturn in the Bitcoin market.
The surge in inflows presents a seemingly paradoxical situation. IBIT experienced a massive trading volume, reaching a record $10 billion as investors reacted to Bitcoin's crashing price. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that the 13% drop was IBIT's second-largest daily fall since its inception, with the most significant drop being 15% on May 8, 2024. On Wednesday, preceding this inflow, IBIT had net outflows of $373.4 million, and overall in 2026, it has seen net inflows only on 10 trading days.
Bitcoin's price experienced a sharp decline, dropping approximately 12% in 24 hours to around $64,000, after briefly touching $60,300. This represents a roughly 50% decrease from its early October peak of nearly $126,000, according to CoinGecko data. IBIT's performance has mirrored this trend, falling from a high of nearly $70 in early October to closing around $36.10 on Thursday.
The inflows into IBIT stand in contrast to the overall trend in the Bitcoin ETF market. A total of $272 million in net outflows were recorded from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. While most Bitcoin ETFs experienced money being pulled out, IBIT stood out by recording approximately $60.03 million in net inflows. Other ETFs, such as Fidelity's FBTC, ARKB, and GBTC, saw significant outflows. This suggests a potential consolidation of institutional investment into IBIT, favored for its liquidity, lower costs, and scalability as market volatility increases.
Analysts attribute the broader market downturn to macro pressures, including weak U.S. jobs data and concerns about capital concentration in the artificial intelligence sector. Bob Elliott, the investment chief at Unlimited Funds, pointed out that the average dollar invested in IBIT is now underwater. Veteran trader Peter Brandt suggested that Bitcoin showed "fingerprints of campaign selling" with limited dip-buying activity, implying the sell-off might continue.
Despite the price drop, the fact that fresh capital is flowing into IBIT indicates that long-term investors are viewing the pullback as a buying opportunity. This suggests that while short-term traders and leveraged positions may be exiting, long-term accounts are actively using the price reset as an entry point.
IBIT's current trading price is around $39.68 as of February 6, 2026, with intraday fluctuations between $38.01 and $40.57. Its 52-week range spans from $35.30 to $71.82. The fund's expense ratio is 0.25%. IBIT has a market capitalization of $53.51 billion. Since its inception on January 5, 2024, IBIT has delivered a price return of 36.42%.