Bitcoin ETF snapshot: Net inflows slow, but continue prior to BTC price rise

Net inflows into spot bitcoin ETFs slowed last week, but remained positive before bitcoin’s price shot up above $72,000 Monday morning.

Bankrupt lender Genesis finished selling its shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) — a process that appeared to periodically weigh down the segment from a flows perspective.

The 11-fund US BTC fund segment reeled in $485 million of positive net flows from April 1 to April 5, according to Farside Investors data .

The total — reflecting an average daily net inflow of $97 million — was a slowdown from the average daily inflows of $211 million seen during the week prior, and the $214 million daily average since the ETFs launched on Jan. 11.  

Year-to-date inflows into digital asset investment products hit $13.8 billion last week. This was driven by the spot bitcoin ETFs, CoinShares research head James Butterfill said in a Monday report. This total is already by far more than the $10.6 billion seen in all of 2021. 

“Despite this, there are signs that appetite from ETF investors is moderating, not achieving the weekly flow levels seen in early March,” Butterfill noted . “Volumes last week declined to $17.4 billion for the week compared to $43 billion in the first week of March.”

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led the segment once again, with $811 million of net inflows last week. Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) followed, bringing in $395 million. 

Grayscale Investments’ Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) continued to bleed assets, tallying $738 million of net outflows during the week. The average daily net outflows from the Grayscale offering stood at $148 million from April 1 to April 5 — down from $242 million during the week prior. 

GBTC net outflows had accelerated in mid-March , leading to asset losses for the bitcoin ETF sector at large. 

Industry watchers had noted a potential driver was bankrupt lender Genesis offloading its GBTC shares . The holdings were worth roughly $1.6 billion in mid-February.   

But court documents filed Friday show that Genesis and its affiliates had “fully monetized” their nearly 36 million GBTC shares as of April 2. Proceeds of the sales were used to buy 32,041 BTC, the filings indicate.

Spot bitcoin ETF inflows have helped drive a record seven-month streak of bitcoin price growth. 

But Fineqia research analyst Matteo Greco told Blockworks there has been “increased profit-taking” among bitcoin ETF investors, adding that could spell “the possibility of a downward trend in April or in one of the following months.”

The price of bitcoin ( BTC ) was roughly $72,400 at 7:30 am ET — up about 1.6% from a week ago.