By Marcus Sotiriou, Analyst at the publicly listed digital asset broker GlobalBlock
The crypto market cap fell back below $1 trillion over the weekend, after the Jackson Hole symposium where Federal Reserve chairman Powell reaffirmed the hawkish stance of the U.S. central bank.
Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed yet another decision on VanEck’s latest bid to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). VanEck was previously denied a spot Bitcoin ETF in November last year. The date which the SEC will make their decision has been changed from August 27th to October 11th, which coincides with when many predict the Ethereum Merge will occur. If the application gets approved and we do actually see the Ethereum Merge come to fruition, this could lead to renewed interest in the crypto market, at a time when retail sentiment is at yearly lows.
Despite retail interest and liquidity in the crypto market being low, Bitcoin whales may have started to accumulate again. Data from Coinmetrics shows that the 30-day change in Bitcoin held by Bitcoin whales (addresses with 1k-10k Bitcoin) has turned from negative to positive in the past week or so. Bitcoin whales could be deciding that $20,000 is a great deal with a long-term outlook.
The recent approval and launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs have brought about notable changes in market dynamics. Among the most significant players affected is Grayscale, a leading institution in the crypto space.
Grayscale’s Bitcoin Holdings Experience Decline
Grayscale, known for its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), held the highest BTC market capitalization among institutions. However, an in-depth analysis reveals a decline in its Bitcoin holdings over recent months.
From nearly 620,000 BTC in January, Grayscale’s holdings have dwindled to a little over 300,000 BTC at the time of reporting. This decline raises questions about the factors influencing institutional investment strategies in the crypto sector.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs Witness Fluctuating Flows
Following the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs, the market has witnessed fluctuating flows across various platforms. While certain ETFs have experienced significant volume, others have recorded zero flows, indicating a mixed response from investors. BlackRock’s IBIT and Grayscale’s GBTC have been among the few to register notable flows, with both inflows and outflows observed in recent days.
Source: Coinglass
A closer look at the data reveals consecutive outflows in Bitcoin spot ETFs over the past few days, reminiscent of similar trends observed in March. On the 15th and 16th of April, outflows amounted to nearly $27 million and $58 million, respectively.
Despite these outflows, analysts point out that such fluctuations are not uncommon in the ETF market and may not necessarily indicate product failure.
Analysis Of Flow Patterns Provides Insight
Examining specific flow patterns offers valuable insights into investor behavior and market sentiment. While Grayscale’s GBTC experienced consecutive outflows, BlackRock’s IBIT saw inflows on certain days. This variance underscores the diverse strategies adopted by investors in response to the evolving crypto landscape.
Bitcoin market cap currently at $1.2 trillion. Chart: TradingView.com
It’s important to note that zero inflows on certain days are considered normal for ETFs, according to analysts. They emphasized that such occurrences are commonplace across various ETFs and should not be interpreted as a sign of product failure. Instead, they reflect the ebb and flow of investor interest in a rapidly evolving market.
Future Outlook For Bitcoin ETFs
As Bitcoin ETFs continue to gain traction, the market is poised for further evolution. While some platforms may experience fluctuations in flows, the overall trajectory of institutional investment in the crypto sector remains optimistic.
The approval and launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs have sparked shifts in market dynamics, impacting institutions like Grayscale and prompting fluctuations in ETF flows. Despite the volatility, analysts remain optimistic about the long-term prospects of Bitcoin ETFs and their role in shaping the future of finance.
Featured image from DataDrivenInvestor, chart from TradingView
Disclaimer: The article is provided for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.
Bitcoin’s dominance within the cryptocurrency market has reached a three-year high, signaling strong demand for US spot Bitcoin ETF holding the largest digital asset and a challenging period for smaller tokens.
Bitcoin accounted for nearly 55% of the $2.4 trillion digital asset market at the end of last week, a level not seen since April 2021. On Saturday, in particular, BTC’s dominance jumped to 57% as it briefly touched the $67,000 mark.
The next largest tokens by market share include Ethereum (ETH), Tether’s USDT stablecoin, Binance exchange’s native token Binance Coin (BNB), and Solana (SOL).
BTC’s Rise Fueled By Successful US Bitcoin ETF Launches
According to Bloomberg, the recent success of the recently approved US spot Bitcoin ETFs from prominent issuers such as BlackRock and Fidelity Investments has played a significant role in Bitcoin’s rise.
These ETFs have garnered approximately $56 billion in assets, making their debut one of the most successful in fund category history.
BTC’s dominance chart shows its three-year high of 57% reached on Saturday. Source: BTC.D on TradingView.com
The inflows into these ETFs drove BTC to its current all-time high (ATH) of $73,798 in mid-March, a clear resistance level for the largest cryptocurrency on the market, as evidenced by its inability to consolidate above the $70,000 level following this achievement.
Although BTC is down about 6% since then, smaller digital assets such as Avalanche (AVAX), Polkadot (DOT), and Chainlink (LINK) have seen more significant declines of nearly 30% over the past month.
This drop coincided with reduced expectations for looser US monetary policy settings, often fueling speculative gains.
Hong Kong-Listed ETFs Boosts Bitcoin And Ethereum
Institutional investors’ allocations to the US Bitcoin ETF have greatly influenced Bitcoin’s performance relative to the rest of the market. Benjamin Celermajer, director of digital-asset investment at Magnet Capital, noted that strong institutional demand is a key driver.
On Monday, Bitcoin and Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, saw notable price jumps following indications that asset managers are preparing to launch Hong Kong-listed ETFs on both tokens. Bitcoin rose 4.3% to $66,575, while ETH jumped 6.2% to $3,260.
These rallies had a positive impact on the broader crypto market, lifting other notable tokens such as Polygon (MATIC), Cardano (ADA), the dog-themed meme coin Dogecoin (DOGE), and Solana, which is now the top 5 cryptocurrency market winner, up over 8% on Monday.
Interestingly, the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, which measures the performance of the largest digital assets traded in US dollars, has more than tripled since the beginning of last year, marking a significant rebound from the bear market experienced in 2022.
Lastly, investors and traders eagerly anticipate the upcoming Bitcoin Halving, an event that will cut the new supply of the token in half, expected around April 20th.
Previous Halving events have acted as a tailwind for prices, although there are growing doubts about whether history will repeat itself given BTC’s recent all-time high achievement.
The 1-D chart shows BTC’s price consolidation above the $66,000 mark. Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
BTC has successfully maintained its position above the $66,000 threshold and has consolidated in this range. However, it is important to note that losses have accumulated over longer time frames.
Over the past fourteen and thirty days of trading, the cryptocurrency has experienced significant declines of over 21% and 24% respectively.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Disclaimer: The article is provided for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.
The outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin ETF rocked the market hard last week, leading to a dramatic decline in the BTC price. However, with the new week, there has been a change in direction as investors begin to get bullish on Bitcoin once more. As a result, the outflows from the Grayscale ETF have slowed down, reaching one of its lowest points for the month.
Grayscale Bitcoin ETF Outflows Drop 60%
Grayscale outflows ramped up last week, spearheading what would turn out to be a full week of outflows from Spot Bitcoin ETFs for the first time ever. The outflows rose rapidly over the week, even moving into the new week. However, inflows into Spot Bitcoin ETFs have been on the rise, which have overshadowed the outflows from GBTC.
Despite the outflows from the GBTC continuing, it has begun to spin into a more positive narrative as the number of BTC flowing out of the fund is declining fast. To put this in perspective, data shows there was 299.8 BTC moved out of the fund on Wednesday, March 27, and on Thursday, March, 20204, this figure dropped to 104.9 BTC, representing a 60% drop.
This marks the second day with the lowest outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin ETF right behind the March 12 outflows of 79 BTC. It also points to a decline in the volume of outflows as investors start to level out and find their footing elsewhere.
Nevertheless, the GBTC has remained the loser of the Spot Bitcoin ETF race, nursing a full month of outflows so far. Since the ETFs were first approved in January until now, there has been more than $14.6 billion moved out of the fund, which accounts for around 50% of its total balance. These BTC have presumably found a home in other Spot ETF funds which have been seeing massive inflows.
Unlike last week, inflows have also dominated Spot Bitcoin ETFs this week. Total inflows for the week crossed above $800 million, bringing the total Assets Under Management (AuM) to almost $57 billion in less than three months.
Why This Could Trigger A BTC Price Rally
The last time that GBTC outflows saw a slowdown after rising for about a week, it triggered a response from the Bitcoin price in the form of a rally. Inflows also continued to dominate for the next couple of weeks and during this time, the BTC price enjoyed a long stretch of recovery. It went from $40,000 to over $70,000 in the space of two months.
If this trend repeats itself this time around, then another massive BTC price rally could be around the corner. A similar price increase would also put Bitcoin right above $100,000 in the next few months. In this case, the uptrend would be far from over.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is still struggling to break $70,000 after a 1% drop in the last day.
Featured image from Which.co.uk, chart from Tradingview.com
Disclaimer: The article is provided for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.
