$96M Flows Out of BlackRock Bitcoin ETF, Tom Lee Warns of Rougher Bear Market in H2

The Bitcoin price continued to decline on Friday after BlackRock sold $97 million worth of BTC amid tough market conditions. This comes just as BitMine’s Tom Lee warns that markets could see a rougher period of the bear market later this year.

SoSoValue data showed that U.S. spot BTC ETFs recorded total net outflows of $90.66 million on June 18. BlackRock's IBIT fund saw the largest sell-off, with about $96.66 million in capital pulled out.

Bitcoin slides as BlackRock continues sell-off

The BlackRock outflow was part of the downward pressure pressure that has brought down the Bitcoin price to around $62,400, in a drop of nearly 2.8% over the past 24 hours.

Altcoins also followed with Ethereum dropped by more than 3%, while XRP and Solana saw deeper losses of around 4.5%.

Interestingly, the outflows come just days after BlackRock launched its new Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA), which recently started trading on Nasdaq. The new fund would accrue income for investors while giving them exposure to the coin’s price movements.

Notably, traders are bracing for further downside. Data from Deribit shows a very high demand for put options. These are trades that return profit when BTC falls. Many large positions were opened at strike prices between $52,000 and $61,500. This suggests many traders are buying protection against another Bitcoin price crash.

Source: Deribit

Tom Lee predicts a steeper bear market in H2

Speaking on CNBC, Bitmine and Fundstrat chairman Tom Lee said markets could still see an "abrupt change" later this year.

He highlighted the Federal Reserve as a major concern. The Fed is currently reviewing its policy framework, with experts now projecting we may see a first rate hike in years. According to the CME FedWatch tool, there is now a 36% chance that the rates will be raised at the next FOMC meeting. 

Source: CME FedWatch Tool

He also pointed to the IPOs of companies such as SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI. These listings attract billions of dollars from investors. Lee said this could reduce the amount of money flowing into crypto.

The warning is particularly surprising because Tom Lee is usually among the most bullish voices in crypto. However, he believes investors should gear up for an even more difficult market in the second half of the year. 

Meanwhile, his companies have continued to invest in digital assets. Earlier this week, BitMine bought $141 million worth of Ethereum. This increased its holdings to more than 5.6 million ETH, maintaining control of over 5% of the token’s supply.

Adding to the bearish context, JPMorgan shared recently that Bitcoin mining economics have worsened since 2026 started. The bank said BTC has been trading below its estimated production cost for five straight months. This has increased pressure on miners and made the network vulnerable to price changes.