BlackRock’s ETF: Potential to Surpass GBTC in Bitcoin holdings in 3 weeks

BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) could surpass Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) in terms of the total amount of Bitcoin held within the next three weeks. As of March 22, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF held 238,500 Bitcoin, worth $15.5 billion at current prices. The fund has been receiving an average daily inflow of approximately $274 million, equivalent to around 4,120 Bitcoin per day. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust currently holds an estimated 350,252 Bitcoin, valued at $23 billion. It has been experiencing an average daily outflow of approximately $277 million, or roughly 4,140 Bitcoin per day, over the last two weeks.

If there are no significant changes in the rate of inflows and outflows, BlackRock could surpass Grayscale’s holdings by April 11. This timeline could be accelerated if BlackRock’s inflows return to their previous daily average of 7,200 Bitcoin. This potential shift has been anticipated by experts in the crypto community, such as YouTuber George Tung, who predicted it could happen within the next two weeks.

If BlackRock does overtake Grayscale, it will become the largest institutional holder of Bitcoin globally. On March 18, GBTC experienced a record-breaking net outflow of $643 million. Although the outflows reduced somewhat in the subsequent days, analysts have cautioned that the significant volume of outflows could lead to downward volatility in Bitcoin’s price. Some analysts, like Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, are not overly concerned and believe the outflows could diminish almost entirely in the coming weeks. Balchunas speculates that a large portion of the recent outflows may have originated from bankrupt crypto firms such as Genesis and Digital Currency Group, given their size and consistency.

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF surpassed MicroStrategy’s holdings on March 10. At present, MicroStrategy holds 214,246 Bitcoin after acquiring an additional 9,000 Bitcoin on March 19.