BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF saw inflows while others experienced outflows
On Monday, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was the only spot Bitcoin fund in the United States to record net inflows, with $73.4 million coming in on April 15. This was a decrease from the previous day’s $111.1 million, but still a positive sign. In contrast, the other eight ETFs, except for Grayscale’s offering, reported no inflows during the same period.
However, the significant outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) overshadowed the inflows into IBIT, with $110.1 million leaving on April 15. Overall, there were total net outflows of $36.67 million from Bitcoin spot ETFs on that day, with GBTC’s historical net outflow standing at $16.38 billion.
The recent outflows occurred amidst a volatile week for Bitcoin, which saw a 10% drop in value to around $63,498 following market instability triggered by geopolitical events. This led to worldwide Bitcoin investment products experiencing withdrawals of $110 million in the week ending April 12, indicating investor hesitancy.
CoinShares’ research head James Butterfill noted that all combined crypto investment products had a net outflow of $126 million last week, despite an increase in week-on-week volumes from $17 billion to $21 billion. The upcoming halving of Bitcoin’s issuance on April 20 is also causing price volatility as traders assess its impact on Bitcoin’s price action.
Additionally, Hong Kong approved several Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs recently, but some experts are skeptical about their potential impact due to the local market’s size, lack of well-known issuers, liquidity concerns, and high fees. Meanwhile, a significant outflow of Bitcoin from miners is expected post-halving, with estimates suggesting around $5 billion in BTC could be liquidated over four to six months, potentially leading to sideways price fluctuations.