- Following the launch of spot Bitcoin ETF trading on January 11, a staggering $561.1 million worth of cryptocurrency has been withdrawn from GBTC.
- Analysts believe that the funds are being reallocated to other investment instruments.
Recent data from Arkham Intelligence reveals that a total of 13,000 BTC has been withdrawn from Grayscale Investments’ GBTC fund in the past few days. These funds have been transferred to the Coinbase Prime custodian account, indicating a potential asset sale.
The total value of the withdrawn cryptocurrency is estimated to be $561.1 million and was withdrawn in two separate stages on January 12 (4000 BTC) and January 16, 2024 (9000 BTC). Grayscale Investments still holds 617,000 BTC on its balance sheet, valued at over $26.2 billion.
It should be noted that the company received approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission to convert the trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF on January 10, 2024. Simultaneously, the regulator endorsed this asset class as a whole.
On the first day of trading, the position saw a volume of $4.5 billion, with $2.2 billion coming from GBTC. Experts attribute the excitement surrounding the fund’s shares to the ability of shareholders to sell them and withdraw funds after obtaining regulatory approval.
Additionally, journalist Colin Wu suggests that the high management fee charged by Grayscale Investments for their product could be another factor for the outflow of bitcoins from GBTC. While other issuers charge an average fee of 0.25%, this company charges 1.5%.
Consequently, experts anticipate further capital outflows from GBTC, with JPMorgan Chase projecting a figure of $13 billion. Meanwhile, a significant portion of the withdrawn funds is expected to be redirected to other spot Bitcoin ETFs.