The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), saw a brief increase in investment inflows in early May after a prolonged period of financial losses since its inception. Despite this temporary uptick, the fund quickly reverted to outflows within days, underscoring its ongoing difficulties in the volatile cryptocurrency market.
Launched on January 11, GBTC experienced consistent outflows for 78 consecutive days, resulting in a total loss exceeding $17.5 billion. In early May, there was a brief positive shift with inflows of $63 million on May 3 and $3.9 million on May 6, hinting at potential stabilization or renewed investor interest.
However, this trend was short-lived, as the fund reported outflows of $28.6 million on May 7 and $43.4 million on May 9, effectively negating the recent gains.
This rapid reversal highlights the challenges faced by GBTC, making it the only spot Bitcoin ETF to report outflows during this period, while other ETFs under the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) experienced positive or neutral investment flows.
In contrast, other Bitcoin ETFs performed much better. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust attracted nearly $15.5 billion in investments. Additionally, Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, and Cathie Wood’s ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF reported net inflows of $8.1 billion, $1.7 billion, and $2.2 billion, respectively.
Despite these fluctuations, GBTC's average daily loss since its launch stands at a significant $211 million. However, the overall Bitcoin ETF market in the U.S. has maintained a positive net balance of $11.7 billion due to strong inflows into other funds.
Jan VanEck, CEO of VanEck, provided insights into investor demographics at the Paris Blockchain Week in April, noting that while some Bitcoin whales and institutions have moved assets, the predominant contributors are retail investors, accounting for 90% of Bitcoin ETF inflows. He also anticipated significant institutional investments from banks and traditional firms around May.
May 2024, Cryptoniteuae