Spot Bitcoin ETFs add 151K BTC amid GBTC dump in January

Update 12:15 pm UTC, February 1: Added the latest publicly reported data from BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust and corrected the overall figures.

The Greyscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) sold Bitcoin strongly in January, but other ETFs bought BTC heavily.

According to public holdings data tracked by Cointelegraph, GBTC shed 132,195 Bitcoin (BTC) in January, reducing Bitcoin reserves by 21% from 619,220 BTC on January 11 to 487,025 BTC on January 31.

The remaining nine funds were actively holding a total of 151,006 bitcoins since the first day of trading. GBTC ETFs have increased their holdings by more than 700%, from 18,390 BTC at the start of trading on January 31 to 169,396 BTC.

In the year As of January 31, all 10 Bitcoin ETFs held a total of 656,421 BTC, about 3% of the initial total holdings of 637,610 BTC, worth $27.7 billion at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko.

Tracked data is based on BTC ETF data reported by issuers, including the updated version of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). According to the official data, IBIT increased BTC on the last day of January, and on January 31, it increased 2,712 BTC.

IBIT's holdings information does not match the data Blockchain platform Arkham Intelligence, on January 23, identified the chain addresses of six spot Bitcoin ETFs, including IBIT. According to Arkham data, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF holds 57,488 BTC at the time of writing.

Cointelegraph reached out to Arkham for comment on the discrepancy, but had not yet received a response at the time of publication.

Related: Cboe exchange withdraws application to list Global X spot Bitcoin ETF

Although all 10 positions in the Bitcoin ETF increased by 3% in total holdings in January, Bitcoin has seen a significant decline in price over the past 30 days. After starting the year at around $45,000, Bitcoin experienced a major upheaval, falling below $39,000 on January 23, according to data from CoinGecko. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is at 42,215, down 8% in the last 30 days.

As previously reported, many analysts and executives see the launch of Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. as a time to “sell the news,” with some analysts suggesting that more pressure could come from the futures market. In the year By the end of 2023, ARK Invest CEO Cathy Wood predicted that some investors would “sell on the news” of Bitcoin ETF adoption in the short term. However, the long-term outlook is still promising, according to the executive.

Magazine: Big Questions: How Bitcoin Payments Can Make a Return?