Grayscale’s GBTC Bitcoin holdings have fallen 33% since its conversion

The world’s largest crypto asset manager, Grayscale, has now seen nearly 33% of its Bitcoin (BTC $67,000) holdings on GBTC removed since it converted into an ETF in mid-January. 

On March 4, GBTC saw its 36th day of straight outflows, with 5,450 BTC or $368 million leaving the trust and bringing the total outflow since its conversion to $9.26 billion, according to BitMEX Research

Before it converted the fund to an ETF, Grayscale held around 620,000 BTC, according to Coinglass.

But the launch of Grayscale's spot Bitcoin ETF allowed investors to finally do something that wasn't allowed in the previous structure — redeeming their shares for Bitcoin. It also hasn't helped that GBTC has higher fees than some of the other  ETFs, such as BlackRock's IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC.

The GBTC fund now holds 420,682 BTC worth an estimated $28.8 billion at current prices, according to its website and portfolio.

Grayscale GBTC holdings. Source: Coinglass

Market observers have continued to speculate when GBTC may see the end of its “Bitcoin bleed.”

GBTC outflows slowed in late January and February, leading some analysts to suggest that they could be coming to an end. However, in mid-February, bankruptcy courts allowed crypto lender Genesis to liquidate roughly $1.3 billion worth of GBTC shares as part of efforts to reimburse investors.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas previously speculated the bleed would stop once GBTC bleeds 25% of outstanding shares, though a self-selected poll on X had most respondents speculating it to happen in the 35-50% range. 

"New nine" ETFs continue to pump

Meanwhile, the nine other spot Bitcoin ETFs have continued to exceed expectations amid a sustained Bitcoin rally.

Data shows that March 4 was the second-largest volume day for the ten spot Bitcoin ETFs with around $5.5 billion, confirmed Balchunas.

The BlackRock IBIT fund had around $2.4 billion in daily volume, and its assets under management figure has now exceeded $11 billion.

Each of the new ETFs is also up over 30% in volume in six days, “which will prob help keep the flow ball rolling,” added Balchunas.

Bitcoin ETF daily volumes. Source: X/@EricBalchunas

March 4 was also a record day for Fidelity inflows with $404.6 million, according to preliminary data from Farside Investors. “Fidelity has more than offset the GBTC outflow on its own,” it stated.

The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) also had a solid day with $91 million of inflows, its highest since Feb. 15.