Bitcoin prices have remained steady despite a massive sell-off worth about $1.3 billion involving BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was at $74,408, up 0.10% since it opened early Thursday in Asian trading.
The large block sale was believed to have been carried out by a mysterious institutional holder, but the market managed to absorb the sale without causing a sharp drop in price.
According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, the transaction was ‘well-absorbed’ by the market as the price of IBIT barely changed after the sale.
Although Bitcoin prices fell by about 2% in 24 hours, it still held above $75,600.
This situation shows that Bitcoin market liquidity is still strong and buyer demand is high enough to absorb large-scale institutional sales of over $1 billion.
However, the sell-off comes as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs are experiencing significant outflows.
In the seven trading days leading up to Tuesday, Bitcoin spot ETFs saw net outflows of $1.79 billion.
CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler sees the large transactions as a sign that financial institutions are beginning to de-risk their holdings, or ‘institutional de-risking.’
The precautionary move is believed to be influenced by rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The United States has reportedly launched new strikes on Iranian missile targets, while Iran claims to have shot down a U.S. drone that entered its airspace.
In addition, several other major players have also shown signs of de-risking.
A Satoshi-era Bitcoin miner has reportedly moved 2,650 BTC worth around $203 million to OTC platforms such as FalconX and Cumberland, which could signal plans to sell their holdings.
Michael Saylor’s company, Strategy, has also not made its usual weekly Bitcoin purchases.
Instead, the company repurchased $1.5 billion worth of debt at a discount to reduce its total debt to $6.7 billion.
However, demand for Bitcoin has not completely disappeared.
Four small treasury companies reportedly bought 602.6 BTC worth around $46 million, indicating that there is still long-term confidence in the world's largest crypto asset.
