The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) continues to see significant outflows, with over $166 million and more than 2,500 Bitcoin withdrawn from the fund’s holdings on Friday, April 12th.
According to data from Farside Investors, outflows from GBTC have now surpassed $16.2 billion since it became a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in January. Throughout April, daily outflows from GBTC have ranged from $75 million to $300 million.
Inflows into other spot Bitcoin ETFs have also slowed, indicating a decline in investor interest. GBTC experienced significant outflows of $767 million this week, contributing to the overall negative flows from spot Bitcoin ETFs.
BlackRock, on the other hand, has shown strong support, as assets under management for its iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF have exceeded $15 billion, closing the gap with GBTC.
Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein suggested on April 10th that outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust might be stabilizing, giving hope to traders and investors. However, outflows have continued.
One possible reason for the significant outflows from GBTC is its comparatively high management fee of 1.5%, which is much higher than the average fee of 0.30% charged by its competitors.
Sonnenshein noted that markets often experience high excitement when new commodity or thematic exposure products emerge. However, over time, these products mature, leading to market consolidation as investors focus on a few offerings.
According to Farside data, GBTC saw outflows of $17.5 million on April 10th, a significant decrease from the $154.9 million outflows recorded on April 9th. The lowest outflow was on February 26th, when GBTC saw outflows of $22.4 million. The average daily outflow from GBTC since January is $257.8 million.
GBTC was launched in 2015 and converted to an ETF in January, along with the launch of nine other spot Bitcoin ETFs, after Grayscale won a lawsuit against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which forced a review of a previously denied GBTC conversion bid.
Recently, bankrupt crypto lending firm Genesis sold approximately 36 million GBTC shares to acquire 32,041 Bitcoin.