U.S.-based Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw cumulative outflows of $4.3 million on Thursday, extending the four-day withdrawal streak ahead of the mining rewards halving itself. -called bullish.
Since April 12, ETFs have seen a total net outflow of more than $319 million, with Grayscale’s GBTC accounting for a significant portion of the withdrawals, according to preliminary data released by Farside Investors.
For example, on Thursday, GBTC alone saw a significant loss of $90 million in outflows, which was partially offset by inflows into Fidelity’s FBTC and BlackRock’s IBIT.
The Grayscale ETF has been losing money since day one for several reasons, including the fund’s relatively expensive fee structure. So, outflows from GBTC may not be a concern, but recent slower inflows to other ETFs might be.
BlackRock’s IBIT attracted just $18.8 million on Thursday, down 93% from April 5’s monthly high of $308.8 million.
“Key liquidity drivers, such as stablecoin growth and US-listed Bitcoin ETF inflows, have slowed – as we have been reporting for several weeks. ETF flows peaked on March 12 and four days Consecutive net outflows have recently been observed. Demand for US-listed Bitcoin ETFs appears saturated, as even a 10-15% drop in Bitcoin prices has not increased net inflows,” Matrixport said in a market update Friday morning.
Bitcoin changed hands at $64,700 at press time, down more than 13% from last month’s record highs of over $73,500, according to CoinDesk data.
“Geopolitical risk in the Middle East could have been a qualifying event to invest in Bitcoin, but prices fell instead of rising. This was a real test to solidify Bitcoin as a risk-free asset. Unfortunately, Bitcoin has failed somewhat as its price has stagnated and sold off,” Matrixport added.
As of Friday evening, the Bitcoin blockchain is expected to halve coin issuance per block from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, reducing the pace of supply expansion by 50%. Historically, halvings have presaged major rebounds, although the magnitude and duration of uptrends have not been consistent.
The consensus within the crypto community is that the impending halving will put the cryptocurrency on a long-term bullish trajectory. However, several observers, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, have suggested otherwise, with the latter signaling the possibility of a larger price correction following the halving.