Ahead of the expected mining reward halving, US-based spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced a cumulative outflow of $4.3 million on Thursday, marking the fifth consecutive day of withdrawals. This trend has contributed to a total net outflow of over $319 million since April 12, according to provisional data from Farside Investors; Grayscale’s GBTC accounts for a significant portion of withdrawals.
Thursday saw a significant outflow of $90 million in GBTC alone, but this was partially offset by inflows into Fidelity’s FBTC and BlackRock’s IBIT. But BlackRock’s IBIT pulled in just $18.8 million on Thursday, down 93% from its monthly high on April 5.
While GBTC has experienced outflows since its inception, the recent slowdown in inflows to other ETFs may be cause for concern. BlackRock’s IBIT, for example, saw a significant decline in inflows, indicating that demand for U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETFs has potentially reached saturation.
Market analysts have noted that key liquidity drivers such as stablecoin growth and inflows into US-listed Bitcoin ETFs have slowed in recent weeks. Despite the decline in Bitcoin prices, net inflows into ETFs have not increased, indicating a potential shift in investor sentiment.
At the time of this writing, Bitcoin‘s price has fallen to $64,700, a drop of over 13% from last month’s record highs of over $73,500. This pullback can be attributed to several factors, including US tax payments, the reduced likelihood of a Fed rate cut, and geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel.
Despite the anticipation surrounding the halving, which would reduce coin emission per block from 6.25 BTC to 3,125 BTC, historical precedents show that halvings lead to large increases in Bitcoin price. However, opinions vary within the crypto community regarding the long-term impact of the halving; Some are bullish, while others predict deeper price corrections.
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