The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) recorded a major uptick of 2.4% on Monday. This comes following the exchange-traded fund’s (ETF) first day of inflow since January. This surge signals a big milestone for GBTC as it has grappled with huge outflows totaling $17.46 billion since. This outflow took place since its transition from a trust to a more easily tradable ETF earlier this year. It was largely due to its higher fees.
GBTC share price surges
As per the data, GBTC share price has gained more than 10% in the last 5 trading days, while, its price is still down by 12% over the past month. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust per share price stands at $56.31, at the press time. If we just stretch the time period a bit then GBTC has gained more than 100% in the last 6 months.
Reports suggest that outflows from GBTC were linked to bankruptcies seen in the cryptocurrency industry. This is the result of companies liquidating their holdings to meet financial needs.
However, the recent inflow recorded of $63 million into GBTC on Friday suggests a renewed interest in the trust. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust currently holds $18.08 billion in assets but it is facing increasing competition from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. It holds assets under management (AUM) of $16.91 billion, as per its website.
Wassup with ETFs
In March, Grayscale announced its intention to seek approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to convert a portion of GBTC’s assets into a new Bitcoin Mini Trust. It was aimed at lower fees. However, the company has yet to finalize the fee structure for this proposed offering.
Spot bitcoin ETFs got approval by the SEC in January after a huge of rejections. It offers investors exposure to Bitcoin without the need to directly hold the crypto. Bitcoin itself has been trading in a range between $63K and $64K during Asian and European trading hours on Tuesday. This shows signs of consolidation from its last week’s dip below $57k.
Despite retreating from Monday’s high of approximately $65K, BTC remains above the $60K level. At the time of writing, bitcoin was priced at $63,290. This shows a relatively stable 24-hour period but reflects a 10% increase since the beginning of May after a slide of over 16% in April.
