Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF Sees Record Outflow of $642.5M in a Single Day

Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF (GBTC) experienced a significant outflow of $642.5 million on March 18, marking the largest single-day outflow since the fund’s conversion from a trust to an ETF on January 11, 2024.

TLDR

Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF (GBTC) experienced its largest single-day outflow of $642.5 million on March 18 since its conversion from a trust to an ETF on Jan. 11.
Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF, the second-largest fund, saw its lowest inflow day on record at just $5.9 million.
The combined outflows led to a net outflow for spot Bitcoin ETFs of $154.3 million.
Bitcoin’s price is trading at $65,875, down 10.5% from its all-time high of $73,797 on March 14.
Analysts point to various factors for Bitcoin’s recent price action, including slowing ETF flows, the upcoming halving event, and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting on March 20.

This substantial outflow, coupled with Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF seeing its lowest inflow day on record at just $5.9 million, resulted in a net outflow of $154.3 million for spot Bitcoin ETFs.

The outflows come amidst a backdrop of Bitcoin’s price trading at $65,875, down 10.5% from its all-time high of $73,797 on March 14, as per CoinGecko data.

Market commentators have attributed the recent price action to various factors, including slowing Bitcoin ETF flows, the upcoming halving event, and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting scheduled for March 20.

Despite the significant outflows, some analysts remain optimistic about the future of Bitcoin ETF flows.

Grant Englebart, vice president of investment firm Carlson Group, noted that only a handful of the firm’s advisers had seen clients allocate funds to Bitcoin ETFs, with an average investment ratio of 3.5% of total funds.

Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, echoed this sentiment, stating that the current flows are primarily from early adopters and that advisors have not yet begun soliciting the rest of their clients, hinting at potential future growth in Bitcoin ETF inflows.

Only a “handful” of advisors have allocated to bitcoin ETFs but the avg allocation was 3.5%, according to Carson Gp, one of the earliest advisor platforms to onboard the ETFs via ETF IQ https://t.co/VIAVw9BAGc

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) March 18, 2024

Some commentators pointed to the remaining 370,000 Bitcoin on GBTC’s books as a justification for a long-term bullish outlook on ETF flows.

As the market matures and more investors become comfortable with the concept of Bitcoin ETFs, the inflows could potentially increase, leading to a more stable and mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies as an asset class.