BlackRock IBIT Prints $10B Volume Record as Bitcoin Capitulates

Liquidity vanished, but volume exploded. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) logged over $10 billion in trading volume on Thursday, shattering its previous daily record as the underlying asset plunged into the low $60,000s.

This was not a celebration of adoption; it was a liquidation event.

The $10 Billion Hand-Over

While Bitcoin (BTC) slid more than 12% intraday to tag $64,000, its lowest level since October 2024, the primary institutional vehicle for exposure went parabolic on the tape. IBIT closed down roughly 13%, marking its second-worst daily performance since its January 2024 inception.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas noted the divergence: record-breaking turnover during a price collapse typically signals a massive transfer of inventory, from leveraged weak hands to passive allocators or market makers absorbing the shock.

The fund crushed its daily volume record… even as its price fell 13%. Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg Intelligence

Forced De-Risking

The violence of the move bears the hallmarks of forced capitulation rather than organic bearish sentiment. Veteran trader Peter Brandt identified the price action as having the "fingerprints of campaign selling," where large entities systematically unload into thin order books.

This thesis is supported by flow data. Despite the $10 billion headline volume, the net direction was out. IBIT recorded $373.4 million in net outflows on Wednesday (Feb. 4), and preliminary data suggests the bleeding continued through Thursday’s session.

Institutional "Stickiness" Tested

Market strategists are eyeing the $60,000 psychological level. With the average cost basis for many IBIT holders now underwater (breached around the $64k mark), the next 48 hours will determine if institutional allocators remain "sticky."

For now, the record volume confirms one thing: the ETF wrapper is functioning exactly as intended, providing high-velocity exit liquidity when the spot market fractures.