3 April 2024
Bitcoin ETF outflows are on the rise once again after a change in the tide last week. These outflows, given the ETFs’ correlation with the Bitcoin price, have a substantial impact on how well the cryptocurrency performs over time. So, as outflows are ramping up, will it trigger a crash in the BTC price?
ARK Invest And Grayscale Lead Outflows
While Grayscale’s Spot Bitcoin ETF has been the natural culprit for ETF outflows due to its high fees, another fund has joined the trend in a surprising turn of events. Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest saw a substantial outflow from its ETF, leading to a new record for the investment firm.
The Ark 21Shares Fund (ARKB) saw a record $87.5 million leave its fund on Tuesday, April 2. Interestingly, the fund’s outflows were even higher than that of Grayscale, which saw around $81.9 million in outflows in the same day.
For both these funds, it marked the second consecutive day of outflows, although it was more concerning on the part of the Ark 21Shares Fund. This is because Grayscale saw a decline in outflows between Monday and Tuesday, going from $302.6 million to $81.9 million. Whereas the ARK Invest fund saw outflows go from $0.3 million on Monday to $87.5 million on Tuesday, resulting in a 29,000% increase in outflows in a single day.
Only these two funds have experienced outflows this week though, as the other ETFs continue to see upside. While Monday’s net flows ended up being negative to the tune of $85.7 million, Tuesday’s numbers looked better with positive net flows of $40.3 million.
How Will This Affect Bitcoin Price?
Since the Spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved in January, their effect on the Bitcoin price has been positive overall. However, there have been points where outflows from the funds have affected the BTC price, causing it to crash.
A few instances of this is back in January, a week after the ETFs were first approved. Outflows had plagued the funds and the Bitcoin price had declined as a result. Then again, in March, when outflows turned negative between March 18 and March 22 and the Bitcoin price crashed from $73,000 to $61,000.
Given BTC’s performance during periods where outflows prevail in Spot ETFs, this current trend does not bode well for the price. There has been a recovery in the BTC price after inflows turned positive on Tuesday. But unless they stay positive through the end of the week, the BTC price could see further crashes toward the $60,000 level.