Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seen inflows of over $19.3 billion so far this year in a “surprisingly strong” trend as these funds amass a significant amount of BTC, further adding supply-side pressure to the market.
According to Bloomberg Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has led in inflows with over $20.3 billion being invested in the fund, while Fidelity’s FBTC saw $9.7 billion in inflows. Grayscale’s GBTC notably saw $17.4 billion of outflows as investors likely moved to options with smaller expenses.
In a separate post on the microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Balchunas noted that US spot Bitcoin ETFs are “on track to pass Satoshi in bitcoin held in October,” with BlackRock already ranking number three in total amount of BTC held.
Data Balchunas shared shows that Satoshi Nakamoto, the cryptocurrency’s creator who mysteriously vanished in 2010, holds 1.1 million BTC mined from the cryptocurrency’s early days.
According to the data, spot Bitcoin ETFs now hold a total of 909,700 BTC on behalf of investors, nearing the 1 million BTC mark. Notably, investors in these funds have shown restraint when Bitcoin’s volatility surges.
Earlier this month, after the price of the flagship cryptocurrency plunged to under the $50,000 mark, investors with exposure to IBIT saw a 14% price drop at the market opening, following an 8% decline in the previous week.
Despite the drop, these investors didn’t budge and IBIT recorded no flows, showing that traders simply held onto their positions. Bitcoin has since recovered and is now trading at $61,500 per BTC.
Featured image via Unsplash.
