BlackRock Goes on a Buying Spree, Acquiring Huge Amounts of Cryptocurrency in Five Days

The iShares Bitcoin Trust, the world's largest Bitcoin ETF, increased its cryptocurrency holdings by approximately $500 million over five sessions ending on July 20. The calculation was published on Tuesday evening by the analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, which tracks the wallets of large institutions on the blockchain. The post spread across industry social media within hours, largely due to the statement that BlackRock had not sold a single coin during this time.

BlackRock Buys Bitcoin for Its Clients

The scale is confirmed by data independent of Arkham. The Farside Investors service reports that between July 14 and July 20, IBIT attracted net inflows of $138.9 million, $80.8 million, $33.4 million, $136.5 million, and $116.5 million, totaling $505 million over five sessions. The fund currently holds over 738,000 BTC worth approximately $49 billion, which is about three-fifths of all Bitcoins held in U.S. spot funds. Together, they had 1.21 million BTC and $77.6 billion in assets as of July 17.

The caveat concerns not the numbers, but the way they are described. BlackRock is not buying Bitcoin with its own money and is not building a corporate treasury. When investors place orders for fund units, settlement participants provide cash, and the trust buys cryptocurrency and deposits it with Coinbase Custody. The assets grow because client demand is increasing. The manager earns 0.25% annually on assets, and that is his entire exposure to the price. The detailed portfolio composition is published daily on the official iShares Bitcoin Trust fact sheet.

Half a Billion Amid Eight Billion in Outflows

The buying spree looks different when looking back two months. Over the past eight weeks, more than $8 billion has flowed out of U.S. Bitcoin ETFs. May saw a record outflow of $2.43 billion, while June surpassed that with $4.51 billion. The last two weeks closed with a positive $273 million, just above what the market lost in the calmest week of the sell-off.

IBIT itself illustrates this disparity well. In February, the fund held about 786,300 BTC. Today it has nearly 48,000 fewer, despite a five-day inflow streak. The value of assets reached nearly $100 billion at the end of 2025 when Bitcoin was priced over $126,000, and on July 2 it fell to $44.91 billion. Cumulative inflows since the launch in January 2024 still amount to about $60.26 billion, but most of that sum evaporated along with the price.

The entire sector has rebounded on a similar scale. Five consecutive positive sessions brought Bitcoin funds about $727 million, including $226.9 million on Monday, July 20. Such a long streak has not been seen since the end of April. The total assets of the entire group returned to approximately $79 billion from a July low of around $75 billion.

The Test Will Come During the Fed Meeting Week

Bitcoin was priced around $66,300 on Tuesday, the highest in over a month, about 15% above the July low of below $58,000. Bitfinex analysts point to $68,000 as a decisive level, as that is where the average purchase price of investors who entered the market in the last five months lies. Breaking through this level would mean that buyers from this period are no longer underwater.

Trading volumes do not suggest this yet. According to K33 Research, the thirty-day Bitcoin volume is at 62% of the annual average, and daily spot trading hovers around $2.3 billion, close to annual lows. The firm describes July as a classic summer market lull. However, the flow distribution has improved: outflows occurred in about one-third of sessions this month, while in June it was nine out of ten.

Another turning point is on the calendar. The Federal Reserve is set to meet on July 28 and 29, and some investors have already positioned themselves ahead of this date. In the options market, there are significant positions calculated for $68,000 to $72,000 by the end of the month.

If inflows to funds continue for a third week and stop depending solely on BlackRock, it will be the first signal since May that institutional capital is returning for good. For now, one fund is buying, while the rest of the group is still recording redemptions.

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