CHONGQING, CHINA – JULY 17: In this photo illustration, a person holds a physical representation of a Bitcoin (BTC) coin in front of a screen displaying a candlestick chart of Bitcoin's recent price movements on July 17, 2025 in Chongqing, China. (Photo illustration by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)
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BlackRock's spot Bitcoin The exchange-traded fund is having its worst month ever as its underlying asset suffers its biggest monthly decline in more than three years.
FactSet data shows that the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF saw $2.2 billion in outflows this month as of Monday. That's nearly eight times the $291 million losses the investment vehicle suffered last October, or its second-worst month on record since its debut in early 2024.
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The outflows are occurring as Bitcoin bleeds. The digital asset was last traded at $87,907.10 – down more than 20% in the last month and down more than 40% from its peak of just over $126,000 in early October. This makes November the worst month for Bitcoin since June 2022, when the asset's price fell by around 39%.
“There is no doubt that hot money investments have seen significant outflows,” Jay Hatfield, CEO and portfolio manager at Infrastructure Capital Advisors, told CNBC.
But “the pullback is really focused on the gambling part of the market … and Bitcoin is really the poster child for that,” he said.
Amid increasing economic uncertainties and signs of deteriorating market sentiment, investors are abandoning the BlackRock fund to invest in risk-averse assets such as gold.
A recent survey from the University of Michigan found that consumer sentiment has fallen to near record lows. Meanwhile, investors await key data from September retail sales and producer price index reports due on Tuesday. And while the CME FedWatch tool shows that traders are now pricing in a greater than 80% chance that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its December meeting, such a cut is far from a sure thing.
Amidst all the uncertainty, Bitcoin is bleeding. And investors in spot Bitcoin ETFs, particularly new holders, are feeling pressure to sell their shares — a reality that could exacerbate the asset's downward trend in the near term, Frank Chaparro, head of content and special projects at crypto-focused trading firm GSR, told CNBC.
“As the macroeconomic environment becomes more uncertain, investors are tending to de-risk across all assets, which often means reducing exposure to cryptocurrencies and other risk-sensitive stocks,” Chaparro said. “And for new entrants who have entered through the funds, any downturn can be unsettling – they can sell just as quickly as they bought.”
But while it's true that spot Bitcoin ETFs have attracted hordes of new retail investors who may be fickle in volatile times, the funds have also attracted a number of long-term investors such as institutions that can ride out the downturn, Joshua Levine, chairman of Bitcoin finance firm OranjeBTC, told CNBC.
This institutional base could “dampen some of the extreme downside moves, but also smooth out the upside moves and reduce Bitcoin's volatility as the asset class matures,” Levine said.