Back to main

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Struggles with Investor Outflows Despite Brief May Influx

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), experienced a brief resurgence in investment inflows in early May, following a substantial period of financial hemorrhaging since its inception.

Despite this, the fund quickly reverted to outflows within just a few days, reflecting its ongoing struggles in the highly volatile cryptocurrency market.

GBTC debuted on January 11 and suffered consistent outflows for 78 consecutive days, resulting in a total loss of over $17.5 billion.

A temporary reversal occurred in early May, with inflows recorded on May 3 and May 6, totaling $63 million and $3.9 million respectively.

This influx of investment briefly suggested a potential stabilization or renewed investor interest in the fund.

However, this trend did not sustain. By May 7 and May 9, GBTC reported outflows of $28.6 million and $43.4 million respectively, effectively negating the gains made in the previous days.

This pattern of rapid reversal is indicative of the challenges faced by GBTC, marking it as the only spot Bitcoin ETF issuer to report outflows during that period while other funds under the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) saw positive or neutral investment flows.

In contrast, other Bitcoin ETFs have fared significantly better.

For instance, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust attracted substantial investment, totaling nearly $15.5 billion.

READ MORE: Starknet Foundation Launches $5 Million Seed Grants Program to Boost Final-Stage Blockchain Projects

Other notable funds include Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, and Cathie Wood’s ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, which reported net inflows of $8.1 billion, $1.7 billion, and $2.2 billion respectively.

Despite these fluctuations, the average daily loss for the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust since its launch stands at a stark $211 million.

Nonetheless, the overall Bitcoin ETF market in the U.S. has maintained a positive net balance of $11.7 billion due to robust inflows into other funds.

Adding insight into the investor demographics, Jan VanEck, CEO of VanEck, commented during the Paris Blockchain Week in April that “You’ve had some Bitcoin whales and some other institutions move some assets in, but they were already exposed to BITCOIN.”

He further noted the predominant retail investor contribution, which accounts for 90% of Bitcoin ETF inflows.

Despite this, there is an anticipation for significant institutional investments from banks and traditional firms as projected around May.


To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to [email protected].

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Read on Crypto Intelligence Investment Disclaimer