BlackRock (BLK) has increased Bitcoin (BTC) holdings for iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by more than 5% year-to-date (YTD).
At the beginning of this year, IBIT held about 770,290 BTC, as Finbold previously reported. The fund has since increased its Bitcoin bag to approximately 811,981 coins, according to official data analyzed by Finbold on April 24. Consequently, BlackRock’s IBIT has acquired nearly 41,691 BTC in 2026, representing a 5.41% increase.
On January 1, 2026, Bitcoin price averaged around $88,110, putting IBIT’s BTCs at an estimated value of $67.9 billion. Meanwhile, BlackRock reported a notional value of roughly $63.6 billion at press time.
Although BlackRock’s IBIT has significantly increased its Bitcoin holdings YTD, its notional value had dropped by $4.3 billion at the time of reporting. Furthermore, BTC’s price has dropped by over 11% YTD, suggesting that institutional investors have a long-term view.
What’s the impact of BlackRock’s IBIT relentless accumulation on BTC price?
The unwavering institutional conviction for Bitcoin, as observed through IBIT’s YTD inflows, could trigger a supply squeeze. With BlackRock’s investors accumulating more BTCs despite the bear market, the available supply on cryptocurrency exchanges may decline further.
At the time of publication, the supply of Bitcoin on all crypto exchanges hovered around 2.67 million, down 3.26% from 2.76 million at the beginning of this year, based on analytics from CryptoQuant. As a result, the diminishing supply of Bitcoin across all crypto exchanges is bullish in the long term, given its mainstream adoption is expected to grow exponentially.
If BlackRock’s IBIT investors continue to accumulate more BTCs in the near future, the digital asset may experience a sharp reversal from its macro bear market.
