David Edwards
BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (IBIT) saw its daily trading volume spike to $3.35 billion on Oct. 29, marking its highest level in over six months. The surge, fueled by what appears to be “panic buying,” comes as Bitcoin inches toward its all-time high.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, citing the dramatic increase in trading volume, confirmed the widespread “FOMO” (fear of missing out) among investors. In an Oct. 29 post, Balchunas highlighted BlackRock’s daily inflows of $599.8 million, with total inflows across all 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. reaching $827 million that day, per CoinGlass data.
Balchunas suggested the high volume may indicate speculative trading but left room for the possibility of heightened activity from high-frequency arbitrage trading. “If this is a FOMO frenzy, we’ll see it reflected in flows over the next few days,” he said. The surge follows Bitcoin’s price breakthrough above $70,000 for the first time since June, with market watchers closely monitoring its trajectory.
Galaxy Digital’s head of research Alex Thorn echoed these observations, noting that Oct. 29 saw the third-highest daily trading volume for Bitcoin ETFs since April. Across all U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, combined daily volume topped $4.64 billion, with IBIT leading at $3.35 billion, followed by Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) with $390.3 million.
The heightened trading volumes suggest strong liquidity but don’t necessarily indicate new capital inflows, as Balchunas clarified. Still, the trend remains bullish, with IBIT recording uninterrupted inflows for 12 consecutive days, totaling $3.2 billion since Oct. 10, per Farside data.
As Bitcoin approaches its all-time high, analyst Matthew Hyland noted that Oct. 29 closed with Bitcoin’s second-highest daily candle in its history, further fueling speculation about a potential breakout.
