Investment giant BlackRock steps up unloading of Bitcoin holdings as market pessimism grows

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has accelerated its Bitcoin (BTC) sell-off on May 18, after ending its six consecutive weeks of cash inflows. On Monday, BlackRock’s IBIT deposited 2,221 BTC, valued at about $170.59 million at press time, to Coinbase Prime, according to on-chain data from Arkham Intelligence, analyzed by Finbold. IBIT recorded a net cash inflow of $317.21 million last week, as Finbold reported, bringing its six-week buying spree to an end after accumulating nearly $3 billion in BTC. As such, BlackRock’s ETF holds Bitcoin valued at about $64.63 billion at the time of publication. The shift in IBIT accumulation has coincided with Bitcoin price rejection at a crucial supply level around $82,200, as Finbold noted. Notably, BlackRock’s investors could have traded the sell-the-news event for the Clarity Act, a proposed federal regulation aimed at legalizing crypto assets, which advanced the Senate Banking Committee in a 15-9 bipartisan vote. The flagship coin declined 4.61% over the past seven days to trade at about $77,410 at the time of publication. Butcoin’s market cap reduced by. $22.3 billion, over the past 24 hours, to hover about $1.5 trillion. As BlackRock’s investors accelerated the Bitcoin sell-off, BTC’s near-term continued to signal bearish sentiment. After a strong rejection at a sell wall around $82,200 in the recent past, BTC price could drop below $72,000 to retest the lower boundary of the multi-week rising channel, based on analysis shared by Aksel Kibar, an ex-fund manager. However, if IBIT investors renew their accumulation pace in the near future, Bitcoin price could rebound.​