Grayscale’s GBTC, one of the most popular bitcoin investment vehicles, experienced a significant outflow of nearly $600 million on Thursday, marking its largest single-day redemption since January 22. However, despite this massive sell-off, inflows into other spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) helped offset the impact of the GBTC sales.
Data compiled by BitMEX Research revealed that GBTC saw $599 million in outflows, almost triple the amount from the previous day. This sudden spike in redemptions raised speculation that crypto lender Genesis may have started unloading its GBTC holdings to capitalize on bitcoin’s recent rally. In fact, Arkham Intelligence reported that Grayscale transferred nearly 10,000 bitcoin to Coinbase Prime, presumably for selling, as markets opened on Friday morning.
The outflow from GBTC on Thursday was reminiscent of a similar event in mid-January when the bankruptcy estate of collapsed crypto exchange FTX sold approximately $1 billion worth of shares. GBTC, which recently converted to a spot ETF from a closed-end fund, had been trading at a discount to its net asset value during the crypto bear market but saw this discount disappear as bitcoin’s price surged.
On the other hand, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) continued to attract significant inflows, with $604 million of fresh funds pouring in on Thursday. This brought the fund’s total assets under management to over $10 billion, with holdings of more than 161,000 bitcoin just seven weeks after its launch.
Overall, inflows into U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs offset the outflows from GBTC, with a net $92 million of inflows recorded on Thursday. This positive trend in ETF demand has been a key factor driving bitcoin’s price rally, with the cryptocurrency gaining 44% in February, its best month since December 2020.
The buying pressure from spot bitcoin ETFs has been a significant narrative in the market as bitcoin surpassed $60,000 for the first time since November 2021. This surge in demand for bitcoin investment products reflects growing institutional interest in the cryptocurrency and suggests a bullish outlook for its future performance.