Spot Bitcoin ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, experienced a net outflow of $55 million on Friday, April 12. This marked a reversal following two consecutive days of inflows totaling nearly $215 million.
Bitcoin ETFs ahead of halving
According to data from SoSo Value, the largest outflow on Friday came from Grayscaleβs GBTC, with $166 million withdrawn. GBTC has been experiencing significant outflows leading up to the halving, as the ETF also lost $154.9 million on Monday, April 8. On the other hand, the largest inflow on Friday came from BlackRock IBIT, attracting $111 million.
The impact of Fridayβs outflow was felt in the crypto market, with Bitcoin dropping nearly 5% in the past 24 hours to $65,000. The overall market also saw approximately $900 million liquidated. Last week, Bitcoin ETFs experienced three days of net outflows, totaling $298.4 million exiting the market.
Despite the continuous outflows from GBTC, Grayscaleβs CEO, Michael Sonneshein, remains optimistic. He believes that withdrawals from GBTC have reached equilibrium and will slow significantly as Grayscale reduces its Bitcoin ETF fees.
The ongoing outflows from the ETF market may be influenced by a pre-halving pullback. There is a common expectation that the Bitcoin halving leads to a larger bull market for the cryptocurrency, prompting investors to take profits in the short term and reinvest during dips.
However, there is also caution among investors that the halving may not result in substantial rallies as seen in previous years. Marathon Digital recently predicted that Bitcoin has already peaked after ETF approvals earlier this year.
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