The escalating tension in the Middle East has triggered a downward trend for U.S spot Bitcoin ETFs, with BlackRock’s flagship Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) being the only gainer over the past 24 hours.
Net Outflow For Bitcoin ETFs
According to Farside Investors data, BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was the only ETF product to hit a positive flow ($40 million) yesterday. The noticeable downtrend has taken a toll on the Bitcoin price as the crypto king dipped 4% almost immediately.
BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust net buying topped at $2.1 billion since it first launched trading in January this year. The fund currently holds about 366,400 Bitcoin valued at $23.2 billion. However, it is important to note that the gains IBIT made were insufficient to counterbalance the outflows from other funds.
Amid the market-wide uncertainty, investors liquidated their various positions. They pulled out $283 million from other Bitcoin ETFs, including Fidelity’s FBTC, ARK Invest’s ARKB, Bitwise’s BITB, VanEck’s HODL, and Grayscale’s GBTC.
GBTC lost about $6 million in Tuesday trading while FBTC led with over $144 million flowing out of the product. Altogether, on Tuesday, the market recorded a net outflow of over $242 million. This marks a sudden shift from the eight-day streak of continuous inflows that began on September 19.
Meanwhile, the demand on Bitcoin ETF turned red after the launch of Iran missiles attacks on Isreal. On Tuesday, Iran launched its largest attack on Isreal firing 200 ballistic missiles on Isreal. The Iranian attack was reportedly in response to the killings of Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
The Impact of The Iran Attack on Bitcoin
As soon as the news of the Iran attack on Israel broke across the globe, Bitcoin witnessed a sudden plunge in its price. Analysis from Coingecko revealed that Bitcoin went downhill by over 3% in the last 24 hours, with a drop of nearly about $4,000.
Iran and Isreal have been engaging in various conflicts since 1985, which has majorly affected the political relationship of the Middle Eastern states. Iran launched its first ever direct missile attack on Isreal on April 14, 2024, with over 100 missiles launched on the country.
