BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Just Had Its Biggest Day in a Year. So Why Is Crypto Still Falling?
BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF just pulled in its biggest single-day haul in over a year, yet crypto prices kept sliding anyway. The reason why reveals a fault line running beneath the surface of the entire market.
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BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ: IBIT) saw a significant inflow of $665.2 million on October 19, 2026, its largest single-day addition since October 7, 2025. Just one trading session earlier, on October 16, the same fund saw an outflow of $71.8 million.
However, cryptocurrency prices didn’t reflect this cash influx. As of October 20, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is priced at $81,453, down 0.8% in the past 24 hours, while Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) has dropped by 1.4%. The total crypto market has fallen 3.2% to $2.74 trillion. So, if one of the largest Bitcoin funds on Wall Street is attracting money, why are crypto prices falling?
Other Bitcoin and Ether Funds Saw Outflows on IBIT’s Big Day
On October 19, all U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively welcomed $526.7 million. While this figure appears significant, several other funds posted outflows, meaning the overall contribution to Bitcoin funds was less than IBIT’s inflow suggests.
For example, investors withdrew $83.6 million from the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (CBOE: FBTC) and $54.9 million from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (NYSEARCA: GBTC). A portion of IBIT’s gains likely came from investors moving funds from one Bitcoin ETF to another, which, in effect, did not increase the number of Bitcoin buyers.
The situation was worse for Ethereum. Spot Ether ETFs saw outflows totaling $103.3 million on October 19, marking their fourth consecutive day of outflows, with BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (NASDAQ: ETHA) alone accounting for $95.4 million of that amount.
Net assets in ETHA have declined from $9.91 billion on October 1 to just $7.96 billion now. Ethereum has also dropped 9.5% in the past month, suggesting selling pressure extends beyond fund flows.
Altcoin Leverage Is Near Its Highest Level of the Year
While Bitcoin fell by only 0.8%, the overall market dropped 3.2%, suggesting smaller altcoins are struggling. Leverage, where traders borrow funds to amplify their trades, has reached a high level among large-cap altcoins. When prices dip slightly, this leverage can trigger forced selling, adding downward pressure.
Data from Glassnode indicates that over 40% of large-cap altcoins are trading near their highest leverage of the year, while the share of mid-cap coins at those levels has reached a yearly high. This heavy reliance on leverage makes the market more volatile, as a wave of forced selling in altcoins can affect the entire crypto ecosystem, especially on days when Bitcoin funds are seeing inflows.
On a positive note, Glassnode has highlighted a calming trend: selling pressure from short-term holders—people who bought cryptocurrencies recently—has eased back to the yearly average. Additionally, the Fear & Greed Index, which tracks investor sentiment, currently stands at 44, indicating fear among traders.
Coinbase Stock Keeps Sliding as Fed Hike Worries Grow
While Wall Street rebounded on October 19, with U.S. stocks rising, crypto-related stocks remained under pressure. Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN | COIN Price Prediction), a popular crypto exchange, has faced challenges, seeing its stock drop 7.6% over the past week, 14.2% over the past month, and a staggering 50.4% over the past year.
In its second-quarter earnings report, Coinbase said assets on its platform fell to $246 billion from $294 billion, partly due to ETF outflows.
Rising interest rates also pose a risk. Market pricing shows a 14.5% chance that the Federal Reserve will hike rates by 25 basis points at its October 27-28 meeting. Higher interest rates typically reduce investment in riskier assets like crypto, so even a small chance of such a hike concerns potential buyers.
Why Is Crypto Falling After IBIT’s Biggest Day in a Year?
The decline in cryptocurrency values can largely be explained by the fact that much of IBIT’s inflow appears to be money shifting between Bitcoin funds rather than new investments. At the same time, Ether ETFs continue to see outflows, and high leverage among altcoin traders adds market uncertainty. Therefore, total flows across all funds may better indicate future price movements than a single fund’s success.
Looking ahead, there may be reasons to be cautiously optimistic. Brian Armstrong, co-founder of Coinbase, stated during the company’s July 30 earnings call that “Bitcoin will come back in a big way,” noting its historical tendency to recover through its cycles. Bitcoin is up 23.4% over the past 90 days, though it remains down 6.8% for the year. If IBIT posts another strong day and Ether ETFs return to inflows, that could signal new demand.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.
