Despite a significant slowdown throughout last week, Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF (GBTC) continued to experience greater outflows than inflows into other funds, as reported by digital asset manager CoinShares on Monday. GBTC, acknowledged as the largest and longest-running Bitcoin fund, recently transitioned into an ETF from a closed-end structure. Despite this conversion, the fund faced substantial net outflows totaling $2.2 billion in the last week, while newly-established U.S. Bitcoin ETFs witnessed only $1.8 billion in net inflows, according to the report. Additionally, when factoring in net outflows from global vehicles, crypto-focused funds collectively underwent a net $500 million in exits, as detailed by CoinShares.
James Butterfill, the head of research at CoinShares, highlighted that GBTC’s outflows have now surpassed $5 billion since January 11. However, he noted that daily redemptions showed a decline over the past week, indicating a potential slowing of the pace of sales. Butterfill stated, “The outflows in Grayscale aren’t pretty, but it looks like they are beginning to subside,” in a post on Sunday.
In support of this observation, blockchain data from Arkham Intelligence revealed that Grayscale transferred approximately $289 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to Coinbase Prime on Monday, suggesting preparations for sales. This amount was nearly half of the average daily transfer size of $530 million observed during the previous week.
While this data might initially seem positive for Bitcoin, it should be weighed against the apparent slowdown in flows into the other nine newly-established U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. These funds added around 46,000 bitcoins last week, compared to approximately 60,000 in the previous week (which was a four-day week), according to CoinDesk’s compiled data. This nuanced perspective underscores the evolving dynamics in the cryptocurrency market, signaling shifts in investor sentiment and fund flows.
