Overview
- BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust traded about $10 billion across roughly 284 million shares, setting a daily record as the fund fell 13% to its lowest since October 2024.
- U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw about $545 million in outflows Wednesday and $434 million Thursday, with IBIT leading withdrawals on both days, including roughly $373 million Wednesday and $175 million Thursday, according to SoSoValue.
- Bitcoin slid roughly 12–15% intraday and briefly touched around $60,000, the lowest level since October 2024, before a modest rebound.
- Options on IBIT logged record activity at about 2.33 million contracts, with puts outpacing calls and buyers paying an estimated $900 million in premiums as downside protection grew costlier.
- Analysts split on causation, with a viral hedge‑fund‑liquidation claim challenged by options specialists who described panic‑driven deleveraging and routine but extreme hedging flows.