The Spot Bitcoin ETFs have become a major headliner recently due to heightened levels of market inflows. According to data from SoSoValue, these ETFs have attracted over $5 billion in investments over the past three weeks coinciding with an impressive Bitcoin price rally of over 23%. However, amidst this euphoria, macro investment researcher Jim Bianco says these Spot ETFs have contributed no significant growth to the Bitcoin market. 

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Bring In No New Money, Only Recycled Investments

In a series of X posts on November 2, Bianco claimed the Spot Bitcoin ETFs despite their impressive inflow record do not attract any new investments to the underlying asset. Firstly, The analyst applauds the performance of these institutional funds some of which rank as the best-performing ETFs of 2024 following their launch in January.

However, Bianco highlights BTC has failed to surpass its all-time high value of 73,750 set eight months ago despite the Spot Bitcoin ETFs accruing over $12 billion in inflows since BTC within the same period. 

Rather than being less than 4% down from its ATH, the analyst explained that such high inflows should have since pushed premier cryptocurrency beyond the $100,000 mark especially considering other positive indicators such as Fed rate cuts, the halving, and public endorsement by Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump. 

For context, Bianco references the Gold ETFs with a record of over $6 billion in inflows since March 13, resulting in a 25% increase in gold’s market price during that period. The market analyst postulates that this price growth can be attributed to the “new money” flowing into the Gold ETFs. However, recycled funds shifted from on-chain wallets or centralized exchanges account for the majority of the investments in Spot Bitcoin ETFs. 

Jim Bianco backs this theory with a report from Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas which highlighted a decline in the exchange’s bitcoin retail traders over the last few months. Furthermore, he also points to the average Spot BTC ETF trade of $16,000 compared to the average gold ETF trade of  $72,000 which is consistent with investments from wealth managers and institutions.

In conclusion, Jim Bianco states the Spot Bitcoin ETFs are not attracting any “new money” but merely circulating existing investments in Bitcoin, which he describes as a concerning trend that may grant traditional financial institutions (TradFi) more influence in the crypto market as against the ethos of decentralization.

Bloomberg Analyst Fires Back At BTC ETF Criticism

Popular Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has issued a strong rebuttal to Bianco’s take on the Spot Bitcoin ETFs which he describes as merely “mental gymnastics”. Balchunas has lauded the performances of these ETFs which he believed have played a crucial role in driving Bitcoin’s price from $35,000 in January to the present market price of almost $70,000. The Bloomberg analyst describes the Spot Bitcoin ETFs as “powerful” due to their low cost, high liquidity, and association with an established brand name and advises against betting against them.

At the time of writing, BTC. continues to trade at $68,100 reflecting a 2.55% decline in the past 24 hours.

 Featured image from Blockzeit, chart from Tradingview

Really, at this point, Coinbase is just embarrassing itself by not buying Bitcoin and doing silly buybacks.

Coinbase just had a bad quarter. After reporting disappointing Q3 earnings, its stock plunged over 10%. To instill confidence, Coinbase announced a $1 billion share buyback. But that flopped, too, with shares barely budging.

This whole debacle just shows that Coinbase is foolishly ignoring the obvious strategy here — buying bitcoin.

Instead of share buybacks, imagine if Coinbase put $1 billion into bitcoin for its corporate reserves. That would have sent a real message. It would show they have skin in the game and truly believe in Bitcoin and crypto’s future.

Let’s be clear – Coinbase should be all-in on Bitcoin’s upside. This is the industry they pioneered! Yet here we are in 2024, and Coinbase won’t follow the proven Bitcoin reserve model that is literally being flaunted in their face by MicroStrategy.

Look, I am not any financial engineering expert to tell public companies what to do, but it’s just too evident for crypto companies at this point.

MicroStrategy started buying Bitcoin in 2020. And look what’s happened — their market cap now exceeds Coinbase’s! This software company, with 1/10th the revenue of Coinbase, has surged past the OG Bitcoin and crypto exchange. All thanks to stacking sats.

How embarrassing for Coinbase! They’ve been around since 2012, when Bitcoin was $5. Just imagine if they went all-in on BTC back then. But it’s still not too late.

No more wasting money on share buybacks or lame projects. The solution is staring Coinbase right in the face — just keep stacking sats!

It’s painfully obvious at this point. Any self-respecting Bitcoin and crypto company must hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet. It aligns interests with shareholders and strengthens credibility.

So wake up, Brian! No more excuses. Coinbase literally owes its existence to Bitcoin. It’s time to go all in at last.

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.