Amid a subdued market environment, BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) stands out as the sole spot Bitcoin fund in the United States to record significant inflows on Monday. Data from Farside Investors reveals that the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) attracted net inflows of $73.4 million on April 15, although this marked a decrease from the $111.1 million observed the previous day.
In contrast, the other eight ETFs, apart from Grayscale’s offering, reported no inflows during the same period. The inflows into IBIT were unable to offset the substantial outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which witnessed $110.1 million leaving on April 15, down from the $166.2 million outflows recorded on April 14. Overall, between April 12 and 15, the ten spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively saw net outflows of $55.1 million and $36.7 million, respectively.
These outflows occurred amidst a volatile week for Bitcoin, with its value dropping by 10% to approximately $63,498 following market instability triggered by a retaliatory attack from Iran on Israel on April 13. CoinShares’ research head James Butterfill noted withdrawals of $110 million from worldwide Bitcoin investment products in the week ending April 12, indicating investor hesitancy. Overall, crypto investment products witnessed a net outflow of $126 million last week, even as week-on-week volumes increased from $17 billion to $21 billion.
The upcoming halving of Bitcoin scheduled for April 20, in which its issuance is reduced by half, is contributing to price volatility as traders assess its potential impact on Bitcoin’s price action. While Hong Kong’s approval of several Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs on Monday was viewed positively by the Bitcoin community, Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas dismissed their significance, citing factors such as the modest size of the local ETF market, lack of well-known issuers, low liquidity, and expensive fees as deterrents to substantial inflows.
Additionally, a significant outflow of Bitcoin from miners is expected in the months following the upcoming halving. Markus Thielen, head of research at 10x Research, estimates that Bitcoin miners might liquidate around $5 billion in BTC following the halving, with selling pressure potentially lasting for four to six months, resulting in potential sideways fluctuation in Bitcoin’s price, as seen in previous halving cycles.
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