As GBTC ETF boosts Bitcoin flow, BTC price threatens $40K collapse
Bitcoin (BTC) retook $40,000 on Wall Street on Jan. 22 from asset manager Grayscale's BTC sales.
GBTC Bitcoin has been seen to surpass $700 million.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirmed a new 6-week low of $40,324 on Bistamp.
BTC price action, while largely stable over the weekend, faced continued sell-side pressure in the new week as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) reduced its assets under management.
As part of ongoing changes following the move to the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), outflows totaled 19,250 BTC ($785 million) on January 22, according to live data from crypto data firm Arkham.
Other sources have named a higher daily estimate, with Alex Thorne, head of research at crypto intelligence firm Galaxy, putting the initial price at $700 million.
In response, Eric Balchunas, a dedicated ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, cautioned that the sales that came in the form of transactions to keeper Coinbase could simply be too big to be absorbed by other ETF players.
“I can only hope it's a little less. Half a billion is the management capacity limit for the nine,” he said of Thorn's total, referring to the nine ETFs currently operating.
Based on my account I'm looking at between $623.7m and $784.7m who sent me this AM, which is the biggest settlement I've ever seen between Grayscale and CB Prime.
— Alex Thorne (@intangiblecoins) January 22, 2024
Others were still satisfied with the ETF group's progress in the new position, with flows still positive.
GBTC still holds more than $20 billion in assets, with the share price down only 0.27% relative to BTC position since January 19, according to figures from statistical resource Bitcoin Treasuries.
“Crazy heavy” BTC price fields bear predictions
BTC's price strength is supporting its own $40,000 level despite increasing confidence that it will result in lower levels.
RELATED: Is BTC Waiting Longer Below $40K? 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week
These are focused on the mid-$30,000 zone, and various well-known traders have identified it as the next opportunity to go long BTC.
Commenting on the situation in the BTC/USDT order book on the largest global exchange Binance, trading input Material Indicators said that bid interest increased by $38,500.
#FireCharts shows another $36M in #BTC bids stacked above $38.5k.
Learn more about FireCharts here. pic.twitter.com/yLEWDAIwbn
— Material Indicators (@MI_Algos) January 22, 2024
“Bitcoin has seen a lot of bullish activity in the 1-2 hours after the US market open. This is likely because most of the ATF flows occur around the beginning and end of the trading day,” noted trader Dan CryptoTrades explained.
“I think we'll break $40,000. I have a $35K strike for March 29,” he told X subscribers.
Earlier in the day, Arthur Hayes, former CEO of derivatives giant BitMEX, joined those predicting new lows, calling BTC/USD “hard.”
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and business activity involves risk, and readers should do their own research when making a decision.
