New bitcoin ETFs overcome GBTC asset losses, yielding strong inflow week
CoinShares data shows GBTC outflows decreased from $2.2 billion to $927 million week over week, while BlackRock and Fidelity asset gains continue
Artwork by Crystal Le
Crypto products returned to positive flows last week as asset gains by the BlackRock- and Fidelity-run bitcoin funds outpaced money leaving Grayscale Investments’ competing ETF.
The segment tallied inflows of $708 million last week, according to CoinShares data — a reversal from the previous week, during which such funds endured outflows of roughly $500 million.
The substantial money leaving crypto products during the week ending Jan. 26 was driven by the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) notching roughly $2.2 billion outflows. That number shrunk to $927 million last week.
BlackRock and Fidelity saw the majority of crypto product inflows last week, with $884 million and $674 million of inflows, respectively — more than offsetting the GBTC outflows, according to the report.
Read more: BlackRock-Fidelity bitcoin ETF asset race ‘a heavyweight fight that can go either way’
The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBTC) has grown to more than $3 billion in assets since launching alongside nine other spot bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 11. Its daily trading volumes beat GBTC for the first time on Feb. 1.
The asset base for the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) sits at about $2.6 billion.
While GBTC continues to manage significantly more assets than both funds — with around $20.5 billion — that lead has decreased in recent days.
Bitcoin ETF flows data by BitMEX Research shows the 10 US spot bitcoin ETFs have recorded net inflows for six straight days, peaking over that span at $247 million on Jan. 30. This follows four consecutive days of net outflows before that.
“Typically there’s [a] slow decline after [a] big hyped launch,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas said in a Saturday X post. “Strong week 3 (and inflows every single day) shows these ETFs have legs.”
The inflow numbers were particularly robust during January’s last few days, noted David Lawant, head of research at FalconX.
US spot bitcoin ETFs saw average daily net inflows of $194 million over the final three days of the month, the BitMEX data indicates. Average inflows into the funds decreased to $59 million during the first two days of February.
“Over the next few days, we’ll see whether they relate to the end of the month — when some allocators tend to concentrate portfolio changes — or whether these exceptionally strong inflows will remain in the next couple of weeks,” Lawant wrote in a Feb. 2 newsletter. “At any rate, I remain confident that inflows will significantly outweigh these short-term outflows in the medium to long term.”
Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.
