In the days following the launch of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the fund sold over 80,000 BTC. However, data from ETF tracking indicates that nine other spot Bitcoin ETFs, including BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), collectively acquired 102,613 BTC in the first seven days of trading since January 11. This amount is valued at approximately $4.1 billion according to CoinGecko. Notably, this figure represents 53% of the total Bitcoin holdings accumulated by MicroStrategy over the past three years, which stood at 189,150 BTC as of December 26, 2023.
MicroStrategy, a major Bitcoin investment firm, achieved the milestone of owning over 100,000 BTC approximately 300 days after initiating Bitcoin purchases in August 2020. By June 2021, the company had announced its possession of 105,085 BTC. Among the spot BTC ETFs, BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC emerged as leading buyers, acquiring 37,304 BTC and 29,232 BTC, respectively. Other notable buyers include Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), which purchased 16,451 BTC and 10,630 BTC, respectively.
In contrast to the active buying trend observed in other Bitcoin ETFs, GBTC, the largest Bitcoin ETF by BTC holdings, has been actively selling Bitcoin since the launch of the spot Bitcoin ETF. GBTC sold a total of 82,526 BTC, equivalent to about $3 billion at the current market value. This significant sell-off in GBTC has been linked by some industry observers to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, which reportedly dumped $902 million in GBTC shares. Analysts also point to GBTC's relatively high transaction fees, charging up to 1.5% with no exemptions, as a contributing factor to the outflows. In comparison, other ETF sponsors have set fees between 0.2% and 0.4%, often with temporary exemptions.
