[NEW] Bitcoin spot ETF "Blackrock's IBIT to overtake GBTC after halving" Bloomberg analysis

Bloomberg analysts have predicted that BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) will overtake Grayscale's Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) by the end of April after the Bitcoin (BTC) halving.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas said on X (formerly Twitter) that GBTC currently has a $2.3 billion lead over IBIT. If there's a Bitcoin monster rally, it could be a bit of a delay, but I think April 30 will definitely be the over/under day.

Last week, the asset gap between the two largest Bitcoin spot ETFs in the U.S. was about $4 billion. BlackRock's IBIT was predicted to surpass Grayscale's assets even before it was approved.

GBTC began trading as a mutual fund in 2013. At the time, only accredited and institutional investors were allowed to trade. The ETF's assets under management exceeded $43 billion in November 2021. However, when the cryptocurrency market slump hit, the ETF's assets temporarily fell below $10 billion.

When the SEC approved GBTC's conversion to an ETF in January this year, the ETF's assets were worth $28.6 billion. Since then, GBTC's assets have fallen to $19.5 billion as investors have started switching to competing ETFs with lower fees.

Earlier this month, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein denounced the sale of GBTC in connection with the bankruptcy of cryptocurrency-related companies including FTX, saying that it was "collateral in the bankruptcy estates of parts of the cryptocurrency ecosystem." He claimed that the main cause of asset outflow was the sale of GBTC by bankrupt companies, and that the decline in assets will stop now that things have calmed down.

Reference:Mr. Balchunas X
Image: Shutterstock

Related articles

JP Morgan analyzes inflow of funds into Bitcoin spot ETF "not from gold investors"

Bitcoin temporarily rises to $64,000; largest inflow of funds ever into spot ETF