A month after launch, spot bitcoin ETF weekly net inflows hit new high

Bitcoin spot ETFs in the US just hit a new record for weekly cash flow as they wrapped up their first month on the market.

Last week, these funds received approximately $1.2 billion in assets. BitMEX research reports that this nearly doubles the $700 million from the week before. This increase coincides with a slowdown in withdrawals from another major Bitcoin fund, the Grayscale Investments’ Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC).

The fastest-growing US spot bitcoin funds also made ETF history.

Fidelity Investments’ Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) eclipsed $3 billion in assets last week, joining BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in that club.

No other ETF — over three decades and more than 5,000 launches — has reached the asset level hit by IBIT and FBTC within a month after launch, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas.

The list excludes mutual fund-to-ETF conversions and GBTC, Balchunas added in an X post, noting that such funds can bring over pre-existing assets. GBTC, for example, had about $28 billion in assets when it converted to an ETF on Jan. 11. That total has fallen to about $22 billion.

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IBIT and FBTC had grown to about $4.2 billion and $3.5 billion in assets as of Friday, BitMEX Research data indicates.

Two other US spot bitcoin funds — the Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) — made the list of top 25 asset gatherers in their first month. ARKB hit the $1 billion assets under management mark, while BITB was at $860 million, BitMEX Research data shows.

In addition to this rapid growth, the segment’s four flow leaders have seen net inflows every day during their first month of trading — a phenomenon Balchunas said was “literally unprecedented.”

Some have compared the new bitcoin ETFs to the largest physically backed commodity ETF: State Street Global Advisors’ SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), which launched in 2004.

But ETF.com data shows that GLD saw positive net flows during just eight days in its first month trading — a stat highlighted by Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan in a Friday X post.

“The sustained demand we’re seeing in bitcoin ETFs is remarkable,” Hougan wrote.

Overall, global crypto investment products brought in $1.1 billion, according to CoinShares data, driven by the $1.2 billion into US spot bitcoin funds. The net inflows surpassed those seen during the prior week when $708 million entered crypto products.

Outflows endured by GBTC decreased to about $415 million last week — down from $927 million the week before.

Matteo Greco, a research analyst at Fineqia International, observed a significant decrease in daily outflows from GBTC. Initially, when it started trading as an ETF, outflows were around $500 million during the first two weeks. Last week, this figure dropped to roughly $83 million, marking an almost 85% decline.

“The substantial reduction in GBTC outflows began on Jan. 26, coinciding with the beginning of a consistent influx into BTC spot ETFs, resulting in 11 consecutive days of net inflows,” he wrote in a Monday research note.

The slowing outflows from GBTC and continued assets entering IBIT and FBTC and others has been a driver of bitcoin’s recent price appreciation, Greco added.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price was at about $48,700 at 10 am ET on Monday — up 12.5% from seven days ago.

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