Dynamics of Spot Bitcoin ETFs Amidst GBTC Sell-Off in January
In January, despite a substantial sell-off by the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC), all 10 spot Bitcoin ETFs demonstrated resilience, collectively acquiring almost 19,000 BTC.
Key Points:
GBTC's Aggressive Selling: GBTC aggressively sold 132,195 BTC in January, resulting in a 21% reduction of its Bitcoin holdings from 619,220 BTC on Jan. 11 to 487,025 BTC on Jan. 31.
Other ETFs Counterbalance: Despite GBTC's sell-off, the remaining nine ETFs actively compensated by adding a combined total of 151,006 BTC, marking a remarkable increase of over 700% in their holdings, from 18,390 BTC at the start of the trading month to 169,396 BTC by Jan. 31.
Total Holdings and Valuation: As of Jan. 31, all 10 spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively held 656,421 BTC, representing a 3% growth from the initial total of 637,610 BTC, valued at $27.7 billion according to CoinGecko.
Discrepancies and Inconsistencies: Discrepancies in reported BTC holdings emerged between publicly available data from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and blockchain platform Arkham Intelligence, raising questions about data accuracy and transparency.
Market Impact: Despite the ETFs collectively adding 3% to their total holdings, Bitcoin experienced a notable price drop over the month, starting at $45,000 and facing turbulence to dip below $39,000 on Jan. 23.
In summary, the dynamics of Spot Bitcoin ETFs in January showcased resilience amidst the GBTC sell-off, with discrepancies in reported data pointing to challenges in maintaining accurate and transparent records within the cryptocurrency market.