This week saw significant turmoil in the Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) market, with net outflows approaching $900 million. Furthermore, this coincides with a drop in Bitcoin (BTC) prices and a collapse in the crypto market. The main driver of these outflows was the Grayscale Bitcoin ETF (GBTC), which has recorded a staggering $14 billion in total outflows since its inception in January 2024.
Spot Bitcoin ETF records outflows for entire week
Bitcoin ETFs recorded over $888 million in outflows this week. On Friday, March 22nd, the Spot Bitcoin ETF experienced a significant net outflow of $51.6 million, with GBTC alone recording $169 million in outflows in one day. In contrast, BlackRock's ETF (IBIT) saw minimal net inflows, mitigating some of the negative impact.
Bitcoin's price is under pressure, currently trading at $64,051, with a market cap of $1.259 trillion, but analyst Michael van de Poppe said BlackRock's Spotbit We view consistent inflows into Coin ETFs as a positive sign of continued buying activity by institutional investors, suggesting that the market cycle is not over yet.
Relentless GBTC outflows continue to weigh on the Bitcoin ETF market, with another significant outflow of $359 million recorded on Thursday, March 21st, bringing the total for the week to $1.8 billion. Additionally, Bitcoin ETF outflows accelerated, reaching $95 million on March 21st and $261 million on March 20th, for a total of $742 million in three days.
On Wednesday, March 20th, GBTC faced a significant single-day outflow of $386 million, while IBIT had a massive inflow of $49.28 million, bringing its all-time net inflows to $13.09 billion. Reached. However, ETF inflows have dried up this week due to concerns about central bank actions.
Bitcoin ETFs have experienced daily outflows, totaling $326 million on Tuesday, March 19th, and market sentiment appears to be shifting. Institutional investors appear to be cautious ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) decision on March 20th, which reflects subdued inflows to most ETFs.
GBTC's woes continue as losses widen on Tuesday with a massive outflow of $444 million. On the contrary, the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF regained momentum on Monday, March 18th, recording $451.5 million in inflows, in contrast to other ETFs that saw minimal inflows.
Also read: 5 days of Bitcoin ETF outflows, but BTC price shows signs of reversal
BTC price volatility
Bitcoin recently experienced a significant pullback after hitting an all-time high of $73,836 earlier this month. BTC price fell below $61,000 but rebounded above $67,000 amid increased volatility. However, despite the Bitcoin price rebounding, it once again fell to the $65,000 level.
At the time of writing, on Friday, March 23, BTC price was up 2.68% to $65,302.84. Meanwhile, the oldest cryptocurrency held a huge market capitalization of $1.28 billion. In contrast, 24-hour trading volume decreased by 33.58% to $27.82 billion.
The recent recovery in Bitcoin’s value has been matched by a short squeeze. According to Coinglass, out of a total liquidation amount of $48.31 million, nearly $30.68 million in short-term liquidation was recorded for BTC. These short traders are expected to buy back their positions to mitigate potential losses. Additionally, this move could temporarily increase the price of Bitcoin, with a major correction later on.
Meanwhile, the entire cryptocurrency market also suffered a crash. Ethereum (ETH) price has fallen from its recent high of $4,092 to below $3,200. Furthermore, Solana (SOL) has fallen below $180 despite surging above $200 earlier this month.
Also read: Analysis of Bitcoin Halving History Graph
