Crypto News- Grayscale’s GBTC bitcoin holdings have taken a sharp nosedive over the past three months since the introduction of U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds on January 11th.
GBTC’s Halving: Bitcoin Holdings in Grayscale Plummet 50% Since Spot ETFs’ Introduction
Unlike the fresh crop of nine ETFs from heavyweights like BlackRock and Fidelity, Grayscale’s pre-existing Bitcoin Trust simply morphed into an ETF, starting with approximately 619,220 BTC. However, GBTC charges a hefty 1.5% fee, significantly more than the likes of BlackRock’s IBIT, which sits at a mere 0.12%. Consequently, GBTC’s bitcoin stash has dwindled by about 50% to around 311,621 BTC, as per the fund’s latest disclosures.
Despite this reduction, GBTC’s assets under management in USD terms have only seen a 31% drop, from $28.7 billion on January 11th to $19.8 billion currently, owing to the concurrent surge in bitcoin’s price since the launch of spot ETFs.
BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC spot ETFs have emerged as the frontrunners in terms of market share by bitcoin holdings. GBTC’s dominance has plummeted from nearly 100% on launch day to a mere 37.3% as of recent data, with IBIT capturing 32.2% and FBTC claiming 17.8%.
U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs Amass Over 840,000 BTC: Impact on Bitcoin’s Total Supply
The combined assets of all U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs now stand at nearly 840,000 BTC, representing over 4% of bitcoin’s total 21 million supply.
In recent trading sessions, only BlackRock’s IBIT and Grayscale’s GBTC have witnessed any significant flows. IBIT saw inflows of $73.4 million on Monday, while GBTC faced outflows of $110.1 million, resulting in a net outflow of $36.7 million. This trend follows $55.1 million in net outflows on Friday.
Despite these fluctuations, the net inflows into these funds since the inception of spot bitcoin ETFs total $12.5 billion.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the Securities and Futures Commission has greenlit several spot bitcoin and ether ETFs managed by various firms. These ETFs, anticipated to launch by late April pending regulatory processes, aim to tap into potential demand, although some analysts remain cautious about their success.
Amid geopolitical tensions, bitcoin’s price has dipped 10% in the past week, trading at $63,459 presently. Nevertheless, it remains 50% up year-to-date. The looming halving event, reducing miners’ block rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, is set to occur in four days, as per The Block’s Bitcoin Halving Countdown.
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