With BlackRock Bitcoin ETF, Adults Are Here (0:57)
BlackRock's head of digital assets, Robert Mitchnick, appeared for an interview on Bloomberg on Aug. 10 in which he shared strong words on the sentiment prevalent among Bitcoin investors right now.
BlackRock launched iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, in January 2024. Since then, the fund has maintained its position as the largest Bitcoin ETF despite the ups and downs.
As per SoSoValue, IBIT holds net assets worth $48.51 billion as of Aug. 7.
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Mitchnick sees noticeable turn in Bitcoin investor sentiment
While Bitcoin is down more than 25% this year, it has not lost any value over the last month. The figures for IBIT tell the same story.
Mitchnick said, "We have seen sentiment turn in a noticeable but subtle way the last month or so."
IBIT data suggests his comment is credible.
The ETF hit the all-time high (ATH) of $71.82 on Oct. 6 last year. The same day, Bitcoin also hit the ATH of $126,080.
Then came the flash crash on Oct. 10 and both Bitcoin and IBIT have been struggling to recover since then.
The fund saw a net inflow of $3.93 billion in October 2025, followed by net outflows of $2.34 billion in November, and $473.75 million in December.
The first two months of 2026 also posted net outflows of $136.55 million and $150.29 million. Then, the situation improved as March and April posted net inflows of $1.40 billion and $2 billion. But May and June again saw net outflows of $1.41 billion and $3.55 billion.
Though July saw the figure turn green, the net inflow remained a meagre $227.63 million. However, August has already seen an inflow of $693.64 million so far.
Mitchnick saw a positive development in the recent figures. He said that Bitcoin has decoupled from equities starting earlier in the year. It was hurting Bitcoin for a while because equities, particularly those related to AI, were roaring, he added.
"In July, when AI had the huge pullback, Bitcoin outperformed significantly," he underscored.
As per Mitchnick, the decoupling is "healthy" because a lot of people consider Bitcoin to be a diversifier and potentially a hedge against some of the "left-tail risks" existing in their portfolios.
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Mitchnick stresses long-term outlook of Bitcoin investors
He also stressed that Bitcoin investors understand that it's a volatile asset, and this investor base tends to lean toward buying and holding it for the long term, and the behavior has continued to be exhibited during the market downturn.
There have been several boom-and-bust cycles, and each cycle ends significantly higher than the prior one, but with a bumpy ride along the way, he remarked. The current phase is the same one, he added.
IBIT closed at $36.23 on Aug. 10, 50% lower than its ATH. Bitcoin is similarly trading 50% lower than its ATH at $64,080.07 at the time of writing.
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