Activity around Bitcoin spot ETFs has slowed substantially this week, with two major funds losing their undefeated streak of inflows since launch.
On Monday, both the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) and the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) saw their first day of net zero inflows.
Loss Of Momentum For Bitcoin Spot ETFs
According to data from Bloomberg Terminal, daily volume across both ETFs tapped $23.4 million and $50.5 million respectively. It’s a clear step down in performance for both funds, with Bitwise averaging $54.2 million in daily volume over its first 16 days of trading, and Ark averaging $106 million.
Both BITB and ARKB have emerged as the ostensible “middle-class” of U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs in what was otherwise considered a ‘winner take most’ contest. Since liquidity is a major consideration for ETF traders, they’re generally incentivized to congregate around one of several otherwise identical products.
Yet the sheer popularity of Bitcoin spot ETFs has left room for runner-ups to thrive. Despite being the third and fourth largest of the nine new Bitcoin spot ETFs to launch on January 11, both Bitwise and Ark have absorbed 31,000 BTC in under a month, worth over $1.3 billion.
Ahead of them are BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) – clear favorites that have amassed over 137,000 BTC since launch, per BitMEX Research. Both IBIT and FBTC were the only competitors to see net inflows on Monday, maintaining inflows for 16 straight trading days.
According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, BlackRock’s success puts it in within the top 5 ETFs for year-to-date flows, ahead of 99.98% of competitors. “A 17-day-old ETF in Top 5 is wild,” he wrote in a post to X on Tuesday.
Grayscale’s Waning Sell Pressure
Last week, BlackRock’s fund surpassed the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) in daily trading volume for the first time.
Grayscale has witnessed a streak of its own, but in the opposite direction: consistent outflows since conversion into an ETF, losing 146,000 of its once over 600,000 BTC holdings.
Grayscale’s outflows were just $107.9 million on Monday. That’s its second smallest daily selloff since launch, continuing a trend of cooling outflows that were a major concern for Bitcoin owners worried about its impact on the market.
Factoring in all spot ETFs including Grayscale, the Bitcoin funds have experienced net inflows of over $1.5 billion since last month.
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