Update 12:15 pm UTC, Feb 1: Added the latest publicly reported data from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and corrected the total figures.
The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) aggressively sold Bitcoin in January, but other ETFs bought significantly more BTC.
According to public holdings data tracked by Cointelegraph, GBTC dumped a total of 132,195 Bitcoin (BTC) in January, reducing its Bitcoin stash by 21% from 619,220 BTC on Jan. 11 to 487,025 BTC on Jan. 31.
The other nine funds were actively catching up, adding a combined total of 151,006 Bitcoin since the first trading day. The non-GBTC ETFs have increased their holdings by more than 700%, from 18,390 BTC at the start of the trading to 169,396 BTC as of Jan. 31.
As of Jan. 31, all 10 spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively held 656,421 BTC, up around 3% from the initial total holdings of 637,610 BTC, worth $27.7 billion at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko.
The tracked data is based on publicly available BTC ETF information reported by issuers, including the updated data from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). According to the publicly reported data, IBIT continued to increase its BTC holdings on the last day of January, adding 2,712 BTC on Jan. 31.
IBIT’s holdings data doesn’t correspond with the information by the blockchain platform Arkham Intelligence, which on Jan. 23 identified the on-chain addresses of six spot Bitcoin ETFs, including IBIT. According to Arkham’s data, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF holds 57,488 BTC at the time of writing.
Cointelegraph approached Arkham for a comment regarding the discrepancy but had yet to receive a response at the time of publication.
Related: Cboe exchange withdraws application to list Global X spot Bitcoin ETF
Despite all 10 spot Bitcoin ETFs adding 3% in total holdings in January, Bitcoin has seen a significant drop in price over the past 30 days. After starting the year at around $45,000, Bitcoin faced significant turbulence, tumbling below $39,000 on Jan. 23, according to data from CoinGecko. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at 42,215, down about 8% over the past 30 days.
As previously reported, many analysts and executives saw the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. as a “sell the news” moment, with some analysts suggesting that more pressure could come from the futures market. In late 2023, ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood predicted that some investors would “sell on the news” of spot Bitcoin ETF approval in the short term. However, the long-term perspective is still promising, according to the executive.
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