BlackRock’s IBIT Experiences $37M Outflows for First Time, Other Funds See Combined $526.8M Withdrawals

The spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States have witnessed record net outflows, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) experiencing its first-ever day of outflows. 

On May 1, BlackRock’s Bitcoin fund saw $36.9 million flow out, according to data from Farside Investors. 

In addition, nine other Bitcoin ETFs collectively recorded outflows of $526.8 million, with the Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (DEFI) being the only one to report zero flows, as per preliminary Farside Investors data.

Fidelity Records Largest Daily Outflow

Among the ETFs, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) experienced the largest outflow for the day, with $191.1 million net outflows.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) followed closely behind, with an outflow of $167.4 million. 

This marks the highest single-day outflow for the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, with the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and Franklin Bitcoin ETF seeing outflows of $98.1 million and $13.4 million, respectively. 

These outflows coincide with a 10.7% decrease in the price of Bitcoin over the past week.

Nate Geraci, President of ETF Store, highlighted that the iShares Gold ETF and SPDR Gold ETFs have experienced outflows of $1 billion and $3 billion, respectively, so far this year. 

Interestingly, despite these outflows, gold has shown a 16% increase year-to-date, as pointed out by Geraci in a recent post.

So, iShares Bitcoin ETF has first day of outflows ($37mil)…

Has taken in $15+bil ytd.

For perspective, iShares Gold ETF has $1bil *outflows* this yr.

SPDR Gold ETF has $3bil outflows.

And gold is up 16% ytd.

This is what ETFs do. Inflows don’t go up in straight line.

— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) May 2, 2024

James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, emphasized that the Bitcoin ETFs are still operating smoothly overall, with inflows and outflows being a normal occurrence in the life of an ETF. 

“Should add — these ETFs are operating smoothly across the board. Inflows and outflows are part of the norm in the life of an ETF,” he wrote on X. 

Bitcoin Posts Worst Month Since FTX Collapse

Bitcoin has experienced its most challenging month since the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX empire, as the excitement surrounding US spot Bitcoin ETFs continues to wane. 

The cryptocurrency’s value plummeted by nearly 16% in April, only slightly better than the decline witnessed in November 2022.

The surge in demand fueled by the anticipation of ETFs propelled Bitcoin to an all-time high of almost $74,000 in March. 

However, as optimism for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts waned and risky investments lost their allure, inflows to these products significantly decreased.

The stocks of crypto mining companies suffered more significant declines than Bitcoin itself. 

Companies like Marathon Digital Holdings Inc., Riot Platforms Inc., Cleanspark Inc., and Cipher Mining Inc. experienced drops ranging from 7.9% to 11%. 

MicroStrategy Inc., known for its corporate Bitcoin strategy, also faced an 18% tumble after reporting a first-quarter loss of $53 million due to an impairment charge against the value of its Bitcoin holdings.

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