On Thursday, exchange-traded investment funds that track the price of Bitcoin in the United States reported net capital withdrawals for the fifth consecutive day. This ties with the longest string of such declines in fund value.
JPMorgan analysts estimated that those funds faced $4 million in advance withdrawals that day.
“The total value of transactions outside Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) reached $86 million yesterday, turning into a net short position,” analysts wrote in their report.
"However, investment inflows into BlackRock's Bitcoin-focused fund IBIT remained low, adding only $19 million, unchanged from the previous day. Fidelity's Bitcoin fund FBTC led the sales with $38 million in shares. In contrast, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) saw a $90 million drop in value yesterday.”
The increase in capital withdrawals from Bitcoin-focused ETFs occurs just ahead of the planned Bitcoin halving event, which is expected to occur later today on Friday, April 19. This event will reduce the number of new Bitcoins created each day from 900 to 450.
“While we do not expect any immediate impact on the trading or structures of these ETFs, past Bitcoin halving events have been a turning point for the Bitcoin price,” JPMorgan analysts said.
While analysts identify Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) and CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK) as companies that are likely to benefit from a possible increase in Bitcoin price due to the halving, they consider Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR) to be in a less advantageous position.
This article was created and translated with the help of artificial intelligence and reviewed by an editor.