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Bitcoin slipped below $73,000 in the early hours of Thursday, falling 3.6% to $72,842 over 24 hours, as U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs logged $733.4 million in net outflows — the largest single-day total since Jan. 29. BlackRock's IBIT alone shed $527.8 million, its biggest outflow since the fund launched. Ether dropped 4.8% to $1,974, XRP lost 3.5%, and Solana fell 3.6%, with the sell-off extending across majors.
The IBIT figure was amplified by a $1.3 billion bulk block trade of 29.2 million shares flagged by Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas on Tuesday, which had lifted total ETF volume to $4.4 billion the prior day. Dominick John at Zeus Research tied the move to a basis-trade unwind and institutional de-risking, with the sell accelerating once key BTC and ETH levels broke and derivatives liquidations compounded the move. LVRG Research's Nick Ruck called the broader tone a risk-off shift driven by profit-taking, rising Treasury yields, and geopolitical caution.
Why it matters
Weekly redemption levels are now matching the October 2025 and February 2026 drawdowns, per Presto Research's Peter Chung — and BTC has been underperforming the S&P 500 and Nasdaq over the past two weeks after hovering above $80,000 earlier in May. The composition of the outflows matters as much as the size: a record IBIT print is a very different signal than a balanced red day across the complex, because it points to a single large basis-trade exit rather than diffuse retail selling. Asia opened lower on Thursday as U.S.–Iran strikes tested a fragile ceasefire, with the Hang Seng down 1.9% and the Nikkei off 1.25%, adding macro fuel to an already defensive tape.
Market impact
Traders are watching the $70,000 level as the next obvious support — a sustained breach there would mark BTC's lowest print since the early-year consolidation, and Ruck noted that persistent outflows would signal further institutional repositioning away from crypto. The flip side: a $528M IBIT block on a single day is more noise-around-flow than structural demand destruction, and MSBT still pulled in $4.3M, suggesting the unwind is concentrated rather than broad-based.
Frequently asked questions
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Why did Bitcoin drop below $73,000 on Thursday?
Bitcoin slipped 3.6% to $72,842 as U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded $733.4 million in net outflows — their largest single-day total since Jan. 29. BlackRock's IBIT alone shed $527.8M, with analysts tying the move to a basis-trade unwind and institutional de-risking, compounded by an Asia risk-off session on U.S.–Iran…
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How much did BlackRock's IBIT ETF outflow?
IBIT recorded $527.8 million in net outflows on Wednesday, its largest single-day outflow since the fund launched. The print was amplified by a $1.3 billion bulk block trade of 29.2 million IBIT shares flagged the prior day by Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas.
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What were total U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF flows on Wednesday?
U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs logged $733.4 million in net outflows, according to SoSoValue data, the largest single-day total since Jan. 29. Grayscale's GBTC shed $104.8M, and four other ETFs from Grayscale, Fidelity, Bitwise, and Ark & 21Shares also printed negative. Morgan Stanley's MSBT was the only fund with positive…
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How did other major cryptocurrencies perform in the sell-off?
Ether dropped 4.8% to $1,974, XRP lost 3.5%, and Solana declined 3.6% over the same 24-hour window, with the sell-off extending broadly across majors as derivatives liquidations compounded once key BTC and ETH support levels broke.
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What is the next key support level traders are watching for Bitcoin?
LVRG Research's Nick Ruck flagged support around $70,000 as the level traders are monitoring, noting that sustained ETF outflows could signal further institutional repositioning away from crypto. A sustained breach would mark BTC's lowest print since the early-year consolidation.
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