GBTC sees $166M outflows despite CEO‘s ’equilibrium remark

Inflows into Bitcoin ETFs have also slowed, indicating declining investor engagement.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) continues to experience significant outflows, with over $166 million and more than 2,500 Bitcoin withdrawn from the funds holdings on Friday, April 12.

According to Farside Investors data, outflows from GBTC have now exceeded $16.2 billion since its conversion to a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in January. Throughout April, the daily outflows from GBTC have fluctuated between $75 million and $300 million.

Inflows into other spot Bitcoin ETFs have also slowed, indicating declining investor engagement. GBTC recorded significant outflows of $767 million this week, contributing to the net negative flows from spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Source: Joe Consorti

BlackRock has maintained strong support, with assets under management for its iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF exceeding $15 billion, narrowing the gap to GBTC.

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein hinted on April 10 that outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust might be stabilizing, suggesting optimism among traders and investors, but outflows have continued.

One potential reason behind the massive GBTC outflows is its comparatively high management fee of 1.5%, which is significantly higher than the 0.30% average fee charged by its competitors.

Sonnenshein noted that markets often exhibit high excitement when commodity or thematic exposure products first emerge. However, these products mature as time passes, leading to market consolidation as investors focus on a few offerings.

According to Farside data, GBTC saw outflows of $17.5 million on April 10, a significant decrease from the $154.9 million outflows recorded on April 9. The previous low was on Feb. 26 when GBTC outflowed $22.4 million. The daily GBTC outflow average since January is $257.8 million.

GBTC launched in 2015 and converted to an ETF in January, alongside the launch of nine other spot Bitcoin ETFs after Grayscale won a lawsuit against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, forcing it to review a GBTC conversion bid it previously denied.

Bankrupt crypto lending firm Genesis recently offloaded approximately 36 million GBTC shares to acquire 32,041 Bitcoin.