BlackRock: 50% Bitcoin Decline Changes Nothing About Long-Term Vision

BlackRock does not view Bitcoin’s decline of more than 50% from the record high of October 2025 as a trend break. In a new report, the asset manager writes that the pullback is mainly the result of deleveraging, reduced capital inflows and fewer purchases by companies holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets. The price currently stands at $64.229, well above the low of below $60.000 reached in June 2026.

Bitcoin is available at OKX and Bybit.

In brief:

• Bitcoin fell more than 50% from the October 2025 record high to a low below $60.000 in June 2026.
• BlackRock attributes the decline to deleveraging, reduced inflows and selling pressure from large holders, not to a changed long-term outlook.
• Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw an outflow of around $5 billion after an inflow of $60 billion, while AI funds attracted $46 billion.

Deleveraging and liquidations drove the price down

According to BlackRock, the built-up speculative positioning played a major role in the scale of the correction. When the Bitcoin price rose above $120.000 in October 2025, open interest in crypto futures worldwide was above $90 billion. Around 80% of that was in perpetual futures on exchanges outside the CME, a market strongly geared towards leveraged trading.

When reporting on US import tariffs hit the markets, it led to a series of forced sales in both precious metals and crypto markets. The subsequent waves of liquidation pushed the Bitcoin price to a cyclical low of below $60.000 in June 2026. BlackRock describes this as an example of how Bitcoin can become strongly correlated with risky investments during such periods.

Outflows from ETFs and selling pressure from large holders

Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted approximately $60 billion from January 2024 to October 2025, but then saw a net outflow of around $5 billion. Some of the investor attention shifted towards AI-related funds, which raised more than $46 billion in the same period. Strategy and other companies that hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets also contributed to the selling pressure on the market.

Despite these factors, BlackRock views the developments as cyclical in nature and not as a signal that institutional adoption of Bitcoin is structurally declining. The company argues that a small allocation to Bitcoin can still serve as diversification within a portfolio and as possible protection against the loss of purchasing power of fiat currencies.

Long-term outlook remains unchanged

BlackRock points to what it calls the “dual personality” of Bitcoin. In certain periods, the coin behaves like a safe haven, such as after the conflict between the US and Iran. In other periods, particularly during deleveraging, Bitcoin correlates strongly with risky investments such as equities. According to the company, that distinction depends on the balance between demand for macro hedging and liquidity-driven positioning.

BlackRock concludes that the pullback does not detract from the long-term investment thesis for Bitcoin. The recent inflow into Bitcoin ETFs appears to partly support that view, although the price still remains far removed from last year’s record levels.