Wall Street’s Bitcoin ETFs Experience Record Outflows
Wall Street’s spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have achieved a new milestone this week with five consecutive days of net outflows. However, this latest record may not be met with the same level of enthusiasm from crypto traders. Over the past week, the ten ETFs experienced total outflows of $888 million, led by Grayscale’s GBTC which saw record-breaking outflows on Monday, March 18. This five-day streak of net outflows is the longest seen so far, surpassing a four-day streak from earlier this year in January.
Weak Inflows and Strong Outflows
The significant outflows from the bitcoin ETFs were accompanied by weak inflows. Blackrock’s IBIT, which captures nearly half the market, witnessed record-low inflows of $49.3 million on Wednesday, March 20. However, this record was short-lived as it was broken on Friday when only $18.9 million in new capital flowed into IBIT. Fidelity’s FBTC, the third-largest spot bitcoin ETF, also experienced record-low inflows this week with just $2.9 million on Thursday, March 21.
Possible Explanations for Outflows
While the outflows coincide with a pullback in bitcoin’s price, other factors may contribute to the large outflow volumes. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas suggested that Grayscale’s unusually high outflows could be a result of Genesis, a digital financial firm engaged in trading.
Trading Volumes and Cumulative Spot Bitcoin ETF Volumes
Although inflows were negative overall, trading volumes remained significant, albeit slightly lower than recent weeks. According to The Block’s data dashboard, the cumulative volumes of spot bitcoin ETFs increased by approximately $22 billion over the past week, reaching a total of $164 billion.
Hot Take: Wall Street’s Bitcoin ETFs Experience Unprecedented Outflows 📉
Wall Street’s spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have achieved a new milestone this week with five consecutive days of net outflows. However, this latest record may not be met with the same level of enthusiasm from crypto traders. Over the past week, the ten ETFs experienced total outflows of $888 million, led by Grayscale’s GBTC which saw record-breaking outflows on Monday, March 18. This five-day streak of net outflows is the longest seen so far, surpassing a four-day streak from earlier this year in January.
The significant outflows from the bitcoin ETFs were accompanied by weak inflows. Blackrock’s IBIT, which captures nearly half the market, witnessed record-low inflows of $49.3 million on Wednesday, March 20. However, this record was short-lived as it was broken on Friday when only $18.9 million in new capital flowed into IBIT. Fidelity’s FBTC, the third-largest spot bitcoin ETF, also experienced record-low inflows this week with just $2.9 million on Thursday, March 21.
While the outflows coincide with a pullback in bitcoin’s price, other factors may contribute to the large outflow volumes. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas suggested that Grayscale’s unusually high outflows could be a result of Genesis, a digital financial firm engaged in trading.
Although inflows were negative overall, trading volumes remained significant, albeit slightly lower than recent weeks. According to The Block’s data dashboard, the cumulative volumes of spot bitcoin ETFs increased by approximately $22 billion over the past week, reaching a total of $164 billion.