BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF garners $73m amidst lackluster market conditions
BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), stood out from other ETFs in the United States on Monday as the only spot Bitcoin fund to record inflows. According to data from Farside Investors, IBIT saw net inflows of $73.4 million on April 15, although this was a decrease compared to the $111.1 million observed the previous day. In contrast, the other eight ETFs, excluding Grayscale’s offering, reported no inflows during the same period. However, the inflows into IBIT were not enough to offset the significant outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which saw $110.1 million leave on April 15, down from the $166.2 million outflows recorded on April 14. In total, the ten spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced net outflows of $55.1 million and $36.7 million between April 12 and 15, respectively.
These outflows occurred during a volatile week for Bitcoin, with its value dropping by 10% to around $63,498 due to market instability caused by a retaliatory attack from Iran on Israel on April 13. Additionally, global Bitcoin investment products saw withdrawals of $110 million in the week ending April 12, according to CoinShares’ research head James Butterfill, highlighting investor hesitancy. Butterfill also noted that all combined crypto investment products had a net outflow of $126 million last week, while week-on-week volumes increased from $17 billion to $21 billion.
The upcoming halving of Bitcoin on April 20, which will reduce its issuance by half, is also contributing to price volatility as traders assess its impact on Bitcoin’s price action. In other news, Hong Kong approved several Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs on Monday, a development seen as positive by the Bitcoin community. However, some experts, such as Balchunas, dismissed these products as having little significance due to the modest size of the local ETF market, lack of well-known issuers, relatively low liquidity, and expensive fees. Additionally, it is expected that there will be a significant outflow of Bitcoin from miners in the months following the halving. A recent report by Markus Thielen from 10x Research estimated that Bitcoin miners may sell around $5 billion in BTC after the halving, resulting in potential sideways fluctuation in Bitcoin’s price for four to six months, similar to previous halving cycles.
