BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Sees $73M in Inflows as Other Funds Remain Stagnant

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF stands out as the sole spot Bitcoin fund in the United States to experience inflows on Monday, while other ETFs reported either zero inflows or even outflows. According to data from Farside Investors, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) recorded net inflows of $73.4 million on April 15, although this figure decreased from the $111.1 million seen the previous day. In contrast, the remaining eight ETFs, excluding Grayscale’s, reported no inflows during this period.

GBTC Sees $110M in Outflows

Despite the inflows into IBIT, it was unable to surpass the outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which experienced $110.1 million in outflows on April 15, slowing down from the $166.2 million outflows on April 14. Across April 12 and 15, all ten spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively witnessed net outflows, amounting to $55.1 million and $36.7 million, respectively.These recent outflows from U.S. Bitcoin ETFs coincide with a volatile period for Bitcoin, which has seen an 11.6% decline over the week, trading at around $63,410.

According to SoSoValue, yesterday's total net outflows of Bitcoin spot ETFs amounted to $36.67 million. The Grayscale ETF GBTC had a net outflow of $110 million in a single day, with GBTC's historical net outflow now standing at $16.38 billion. The Bitcoin spot ETF with the… pic.twitter.com/92c3lbmn7W

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) April 16, 2024

Furthermore, global Bitcoin investment products faced outflows of $110 million in the week ending April 12, indicating investor hesitancy, according to James Butterfill, the head of research at CoinShares. 

Butterfill noted that all combined crypto investment products experienced net outflows of $126 million last week, although weekly volumes increased from $17 billion to $21 billion.

Bitcoin’s recent plunge to a three-week low of $61,918 can be attributed to Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel on April 13, which triggered market turbulence. 

Additionally, as the cryptocurrency’s halving event approaches on April 20, where its issuance will be halved, traders are closely monitoring its potential impact on Bitcoin’s price movement.

Bitcoin Surges as Hong Kong Approves Spot ETFs

On Monday, Bitcoin experienced a 2.8% surge over a 24-hour period, reaching a trading value above $66,500 after multiple issuers in Hong Kong announced that they received approval for spot crypto ETFs.China Asset Management, Bosera Capital, and other applicants took to the social media platform WeChat (Weixin) to share the news of their approval to list spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in Hong Kong. The news is significant as analysts predict mainland Chinese investors could pour $25 billion in potential Hong Kong-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs through the Southbound Stock Connect program.The Southbound Stock Connect allows qualified mainland Chinese investors to access eligible shares listed in Hong Kong.Meanwhile, a notable outflow of Bitcoin from miners could be on the horizon in the months following the upcoming halving event.In a recent note, Markus Thielen, the head of research at 10x Research, estimated that Bitcoin miners have the potential to liquidate approximately $5 billion worth of BTC after the halving.Thielen also highlighted that this selling pressure from miners could persist for four to six months, leading to a potential sideways movement in Bitcoin’s price during that period, similar to what has been observed in past halving cycles.