BlackRock, Fidelity bitcoin ETFs bleed Wednesday, joining GBTC

The world’s largest asset manager sees BTC fund outflows for the first time, while the most money left Fidelity’s product

by Ben Strack /

May 2, 2024 09:48 am

Artwork by Crystal Le

US spot bitcoin ETFs saw unprecedented outflows Wednesday, as most of them came from funds other than Grayscale’s BTC fund.

Ten spot bitcoin ETFs trading in the US saw net money leave their coffers Wednesday, as bitcoin’s price dipped significantly. A fund by Hashdex saw zero flows.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) contributed $167 million of the $564 million in net outflows seen on the day, according to Farside Investors data.

But Fidelity Investments saw the most capital leave its bitcoin ETF, enduring $191 million of net outflows — by far its most ever in a single day.

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BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) had seen five straight days of zero flows after its 71-day streak of bringing in net money ended. The fund witnessed its first ever net outflows, amounting to $37 million on Wednesday, the data shows.

The Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) hemorrhaged $98 million, while others saw more minimal investor capital trickle out.

Wednesday’s outflows come as bitcoin ETF demand has stalled over the last month or so. Analysts have attributed this in part to investors in the funds taking profits after seeing big price appreciation on their shares after entering the market earlier this year.

Still, the scope of the outflows across nearly the whole segment is something the fund category has not seen before.

BlackRock and Fidelity had been consistent asset gatherers in the space since the funds launched on Jan. 11, with their net inflows amounting to about $15.4 billion and $7.9 billion, respectively.

GBTC now has outflows of nearly $17.5 billion since converting to an ETF in January. The fund category overall has notched net inflows of $11.2 billion in nearly four months.

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