Spot Bitcoin ETFs scoop up another 10,500 Bitcoin (BTC) on day 5

BlackRock’s ETF absorbed the most Bitcoin relative to other funds, while Grayscale’s fund continued to face withdrawals on trading day five. Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund issuers increased their crypto holdings by a net of 10,667 Bitcoin (BTC) to $41,209 on the fifth trading day due to increased trading volumes. According to data produced by X account CC15Capital on January 17, a net $440 million in Bitcoin was added to their holdings by the conclusion of the day. BlackRock’s ETF accounted for the majority of this, with a net gain of 8,700 BTC worth almost $358 million.

The data also shows that nine ETFs (excluding Grayscale) have purchased almost 68,500 BTC since their inception, totaling approximately $2.8 billion. The recent ETF-linked Bitcoin purchases were largely offset by persistent withdrawals from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which sold 10,824 BTC for around $445 million. Nearly 38,000 BTC have departed the GBTC since it was converted to a spot ETF on January 11. Meanwhile, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas reported that the “Newborn Nine,” his term for the nine Bitcoin ETFs excluding the GBTC, had a 34% increase in daily activity as of the fifth day of trading. “Normally with a hyped-up launch you see volume steadily decrease each day post-launch, rare to see it reverse back up,” he said.

However, it should be noted that data on Bitcoin purchases reported by ETF managers is delayed when compared to each fund’s transaction volume estimates due to purchase settlement delays. With investors flocking to the new funds, BlackRock and Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETFs each had more than $1 billion in assets under management at the end of trading on January 18, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart. Balchunas also stated that BlackRock and Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETFs rank fourth and fifth in weekly capital inflows among all U.S. ETFs, trailing only the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF (VOO), which seeks to replicate the performance of the S&P 500, the 500 largest public U.S. corporations.