Bitcoin ETFs Record $2.2 Billion in Net Inflows Over the Week
The BlackRock Bitcoin ETF garnered the majority of the week’s inflows, amassing $1.6 billion in capital from February 12 to 16.
Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) experienced another strong week, with net inflows from February 12 to 16 exceeding $2.2 billion. According to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, this total inflow surpassed that of all 3,400 ETFs combined. The BlackRock fund, IBIT, received the majority of the capital, with positive flows of $1.6 billion last week, as revealed by BitMEX Research data. Balchunas noted that $IBIT alone has received $5.2 billion YTD, accounting for 50% of all BlackRock’s net ETF inflows from 417 ETFs.
Among the Bitcoin funds holding billions in assets, Fidelity’s FBTC attracted significant inflows of $648.5 million over the past five trading sessions, while ARKB Ark 21Shares garnered $405 million in the same period, and Bitwise’s BITB attracted $232.1 million in capital. Outflows from Grayscale’s GBTC disrupt the overall performance of ETFs, with the fund experiencing withdrawals of $624 million in recent days as investors continue to sell their shares and move towards other products with lower fees. Since converting from an over-the-counter product to an ETF on January 10, the Grayscale fund has seen over $7 billion in capital outflows.
The recent surge in Bitcoin’s price, which has increased by 91% over the past four months, is believed to be partly due to the new ETFs, supported by market sentiment around the funds’ approval by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month. Bitcoin rose nearly 7% over the week and was trading at $51,434 at the time of writing, marking a 24% increase in February. Banks and major financial institutions are also paying attention to the new ETFs. In a February 14 letter, a trade group coalition representing Wall Street’s biggest firms asked the SEC to consider changes to Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121), which provides guidance on accounting for asset custody obligations. This review would allow banks to act as custodians for Bitcoin funds.
