On March 19, US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) underwent historic outflows, with $326 million being withdrawn from 10 specific funds in a single day. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), holding over $23.7 billion in assets, is potentially at risk of depleting its holdings by the end of July if the current rate of outflows persists.
ETFs Lose Favor with Investors
Data from Farside Investors shows that Grayscale’s GBTC experienced a massive $443.5 million net outflow on that day. In contrast, ETFs from BlackRock, Fidelity, and Bitwise were the only ones to record net inflows, albeit at subdued levels. These inflows amounted to $117.3 million combined, marking a notably low day for new Bitcoin ETFs, excluding GBTC.
The BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) fund led with a $75.2 million net inflow, while the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) attracted $39.6 million. The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), meanwhile, noted a mere $2.5 million in net inflows, the lowest ever recorded for the fund, discounting zero-entry days.
Bitcoin Market Faces Downward Pressure
The record outflows of March 19 are over twice the amount of the previous high seen on January 24, which was $158.3 million. This marked a second consecutive day of net outflows, coinciding with Bitcoin’s price drop to $62,400 during the US trading hours of March 19. This followed the cryptocurrency‘s peak at $73,835 on March 14.
Recent figures from Tradingview indicate a 5.4% decline in Bitcoin’s value over the past 24 hours, with the cryptocurrency partially recovering from its intraday low of $60,872 to trade at $63,015 at the time of reporting. The GBTC experienced its largest single-day outflow of $642.5 million on March 18, contributing to an alarming $12.9 billion in total outflows over the last 49 trading days. These outflows have been exacerbated by broader macroeconomic trends in the US and the anticipated Bitcoin halving event.