In recent days, selling pressure in the cryptocurrency market began to subside following a notable shift regarding BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT. Until this morning, individual investors reducing their shares in the fund had weighed on Bitcoin’s price, but fresh developments during the trading day helped tip market sentiment back toward the buy side.
ETF outflows and price pressures
According to SoSoValue data, IBIT recorded net outflows of more than $772 million as of the beginning of July. Meanwhile, the fund’s total net assets dropped to $44 billion. As the summer correction unfolded, Bitcoin retreated from its spring highs to nearly $59,000 per coin. This movement pushed BlackRock’s Bitcoin holdings to slightly above 3.5% of the global supply.
As one of the world’s largest asset managers, BlackRock is closely watched for its influence on the flow of institutional capital between traditional finance and crypto markets. That’s why changes in IBIT’s activity have implications that reach far beyond the fund’s investors, affecting the entire spot market’s direction.
Last week, Strategy announced it had sold approximately $216 million worth of Bitcoin to fund dividend payments on its securities.
Market reacts strongly to Strategy’s statement
Strategy’s announcement was seen as the immediate trigger for the market downturn. Led by Michael Saylor, the company disclosed the $216 million Bitcoin sale last week to meet its dividend obligations for its securities.
After the statement, Bitcoin prices on exchanges fell sharply, breaching local support at $62,641. The initial response saw a flurry of short-term investors offloading their positions in quick succession.
However, the selloff did not last long. As the selling pressure intensified, institutional demand emerged, with BlackRock’s side reportedly absorbing much of the volume through Coinbase Prime. Well known for serving large institutional clients, Coinbase Prime offers custody, trading, and liquidity solutions tailored to substantial accounts.
Mini glossary: Coinbase Prime is an institutional crypto trading infrastructure built for large funds and companies. Arkham is an analytics platform that tracks blockchain data and visualizes wallet activity.
Transactions of 300 BTC draw attention
Data from Arkham showed that the purchases were executed in gradual transactions of exactly 300 BTC at a time. At the end of the process, an even larger block transaction of 1,000 BTC was carried out. The total spending involved is estimated to have exceeded $80 million.
At the same time, BlackRock’s second fund, ETHA, added another 7,500 Ethereum, revealing that institutional buying interest extended beyond Bitcoin and into Ethereum as well.
Major investors accumulate at the lows
Market recovery coincided with similar moves by other large wallet holders. Over the last few days, major investors reportedly acquired more than 270,000 BTC at lower price levels. As a result, prices on Bitfinex bounced back swiftly to $63,739.
Technical indicators also pointed to an improved outlook. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) climbed to 65, signaling renewed dominance from buyers. What began as a sharp wave of selling during the day ultimately became a turning point where institutional demand led the way.
