Spot Bitcoin ETF Flows Flip Negative Again as Markets Retreat

Bitcoin ETF flows were back in the red again on Monday, April 1, following another large outflow from Grayscale.

The aggregate outflow for the eleven spot-based investment products was $85.7 million, or 1,200 BTC, according to preliminary data from Farside Investors.

The net inflow for nine of them was $217.2, but this was not enough to negate the net outflow, which was $302.9 million, predominantly from Grayscale, with a tiny outflow from Ark 21Shares.

✅ April 1 net outflows for U.S. Bitcoin ETFs w/ -$88 million, primarily due to -$303m outflow by $GBTC 👇 $IBIT $FBTC $ARKB $BITB $BRRR $BTCO $HODL $EZBC $BTCW pic.twitter.com/JO1YlDy1UL

— HODL15Capital 🇺🇸 (@HODL15Capital) April 2, 2024

ETF Flow Trend Change

The move reverses a five-day trend of inflows that saw $845 million on aggregate entering spot Bitcoin ETFs in four days last week (March 29 was a US holiday).

Between March 18 and 22, there was $890.7 million in aggregate outflows caused by large numbers leaving Grayscale and low inflows for BlackRock and Fidelity.

On April 1, BlackRock managed $166 million in inflows, and Fidelity had $44 million, not enough to counterbalance the GBTC exodus.

Grayscale has lost 286,381 BTC worth around $19 billion since it converted the fund to a spot ETF in mid-January, and the exodus does not appear to be slowing down.

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart commented that it was “honestly higher than I expected” before adding, “Thought this was have slowed down by now.”

Overall ETF flows and BTC holdings appear to have stabilized in mid-March, with the total (including Grayscale) at around 833,000 BTC.

UPDATE (4/1)

Bitcoin ETFs Total outflows – 1.2K

New 9 ETFs + 3.2K BTC
Total Bitcoin Held in ETFs 833.3K BTC

Highlights:
Blackrock + 2.3K #BTC
GBTC -4.4K #BTC

Follow our ETF Tracker to see all the details. pic.twitter.com/PG4KMUEOvY

— Thomas | heyapollo.com (@thomas_fahrer) April 2, 2024

Furthermore, financial firms must start filing 13F reports to the SEC this month to report their Bitcoin ETF holdings.

One of the first was financial planning firm Burkett Financial Services, which reported owning 602 shares of BlackRock’s IBIT fund as of March 31.

In a 13F filing today with the SEC, Burkett Financial Services, a South Carolina-based financial planning firm, reported owning 602 shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust as of March 31.

This is the first 13F filing to show Bitcoin ETF ownership. As I’ve posted, expect these to…

— MacroScope (@MacroScope17) April 1, 2024

Crypto Markets Tumble

The crypto market correction has accelerated today with a sharp decline during the Tuesday morning Asian trading session.

Total market capitalization has tanked 6.2% on the day in a fall to $2.63 trillion as leverage long positions got liquidated again .

BTC dropped to a weekly low of $65,100, while Ethereum slid to $3,300, and the altcoins suffered heavier losses.

If markets continue to retreat and Grayscale continues to hemorrhage assets, spot ETF flows could remain negative on aggregate for the rest of this week.