Benzinga - by Khyathi Dalal, Benzinga Staff Writer.
For the third time since their January launch, spot Bitcoin ETFs witnessed net outflows last week as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) prices declined 8% last week.
What Happened: BitMEX Research data, as reported by Blockworks, indicates an $83 million drop in assets in the 11-fund category from April 8 to April 12. This is a stark contrast to the net inflows of $485 million recorded the previous week.
Since their launch on January 11, spot Bitcoin ETFs have collectively attracted $12.5 billion in positive flows. However, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (OTC:GBTC) has been the only U.S. BTC fund to consistently see outflows, with $767 million exiting last week.
Despite attempts by asset-gathering leaders such as BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT) and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (BATS:FBTC) to counterbalance the GBTC’s negative net flows, they managed to attract only $487 million and $90 million, respectively.
The Bitcoin fund segment had only two weeks of net outflows before last week, losing $417 million in assets from Jan. 22 to Jan. 26 and $888 million from March 18 to March 22. The most significant net inflows in a week for the category peaked at $2.5 billion from March 11 to March 15.
Read Next: Bitcoin’s Next Move: ‘More Likely’ To Hit Up To 75K On Short Liquidations, Analyst Says
Why It Matters: The recent ETF outflows coincide with a week where Bitcoin's price fell 8% in the last week and by around 5% from Monday to Friday. Analysts suggest these outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs indicate “increased profit-taking and investor caution,” following the strong uptrend over the past two quarters.
Coinglass data indicates a growth of 2.6% in its open interest to $33.1 billion alongside a 3% surge in Bitcoin prices in the past 24 hours.
Notably, Bitcoin liquidations in the past 24 hours have seen almost as many short liquidations ($118 million) as long liquidations ($126 million).
What's Next: The influence of Bitcoin as an institutional asset class is expected to be thoroughly explored at Benzinga's upcoming Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.
Read Next: Peter Schiff Predicts Bitcoin ETFs Will Lead To Its ‘Biggest Crash Ever’
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